Kindred Spirits
by SarCuppCake
Summary: Like is drawn to like, so what happens when Daryl realizes he has a whole lot more in common with Carol's oldest daughter Clara than he'd ever thought was possible. WARNING: this story deals with domestic abuse. Daryl D./OC
1. Chapter 1: Land of the Dead

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** I've had the idea for this story for a while now and only recently started to come together in my head. I actually got the idea from Norman Reedus who in one of his interviews mentioned that the reason Daryl and Carol are drawn to each other is because like recognizes like or something along those lines. As much as I like Carol in the show I can't bring myself to write her as a main character because I do have issues with her which is why I decided to create an original character as her older daughter. This story will deal with issues such as the horrific trauma of domestic violence: psychological, physical, and mental abuse so be warned. This story will start at the beginning of season 2 with the assumption that Clara Peletier has been part of the cast of characters all along. I'll probably do some flash backs to season one and pre-apocalyptic times as the story progresses.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Land of the Dead**

Clara was sitting in the back seat of her mother's Cherokee her head resting against the window as she watched the scenery pass by. It seemed like they'd been driving forever, though the truth was it was probably barely after noon. Ever since the world went to shit, things like time didn't seem to exist any longer. The days stretched on in front of them every one of them just as bleak as the one before it. The past week alone had seemed never ending; so many of their people had been lost or killed. Her father had been one of them and it had been a sore spot between her and mother. Clara couldn't be sad that he was dead, in her almost twenty-one years of life she'd seen him put his hands far too many times on her mother and baby sister, to ever feel sorrow that an evil bastard like Ed Peletier was dead. She'd never shed a tear for that man. She'd been lost in her thoughts and was only brought back to the present when she felt the car come to a stop. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"I'm gonna check it out." Rick said turning the car off picking up his handgun. He climbed out of the car and walked around the side of the RV that blocked their view.

Clara felt Sophia slip her hand in her own. "Everything is okay." She said squeezing her sister's hand gently. She hated the fear that she saw the little girl's eyes, her sister had always been a quiet child but in the past few weeks it seemed to only be getting worse. She was worried that the painfully shy girl was starting to become withdrawn. "See there's Rick." She said when she saw the former officer walk back to the car.

"There's a rig turned on its side blocking the road and that radiator hose in the RV blew again." Rick said leaning into the passenger side window. "Why don't you all get out, stretch your legs? See if there's anything in these cars we can use."

Lori frowned as she looked around, "I'm not sure I like this…this place, it's a grave yard." She said as they clamored out of the car.

"We're still alive. And I don't know about you but I wanna keep living." She said to Lori than looked down at her sister, "Come on kiddo."

They walked around the front of the RV, Dale had Glenn helping with the radiator while T-Dog and Daryl went to syphon gas from some of the cars. Clara watched as her mother opened a suitcase and pulled out a red blouse. The sight of her mother running her fingers over the lush fabric was enough to make tears well up in her eyes. Nobody knew how truly controlling Ed Peletier had been of his wife. Everyone had assumed that he'd just been your stereo typical asshole, who liked to slap his wife around. Things went beyond that, Ed had controlled everything in Carol's life from what she wore, to who she talked to, even how she wore her hair. Carol flushed a little when she saw Lori watching her. "Ed never let me wear nice things like this." She folded the shirt up and put it back in the suitcase. She'd been so use to this kind of abuse that even now nearly a week since her husband's death she was still afraid to make him angry.

"Take it mama." Clara said pulling the shirt out of the bag and handing it to her.

"It's not like these people are gonna need it." Carol rationalized. "And we will need more clothes with the cold weather coming."

"Hey Carl stay in my sight." Lori called to her son.

"I'll keep an eye on the kids." Clara said to the older women. She'd barley gotten the words out of her mouth when Rick came around the side of a truck.

"Everyone get under the cars, get down." He said in a loud whisper.

Clara tried get up to where her sister and Carl were at but the walkers were coming too quickly. She got down on the ground and rolled under the car she'd been standing by. She watched in horror as the horde came ambling beside of them knocking into the cars, coming dangerously close to them. Finally after what seemed like an eternity they finally stopped coming. Clara watched as Sophia started to slide from under the car only to be seen by a straggling walker. Her sister slid from under the car and ran trying to get away from them. "Sophia!" Clara called climbing from under the car and started to go after her.

Rick grabbed her before she got a chance, "I got this you stay with your mom make sure she's okay."

Clara nodded, "Just…find her."

"I promise." Rick said before running towards the woods where the little girl had ran.

"Sophia?" Carol asked Clara as she ran over to where she was at.

"Rick's going to get her." Clara said hugging her mom.

"There's…two walkers after my baby." She sobbed then turned to her daughter, "Where were you? You said you'd watch her where were you?"


	2. Chapter 2: Little Girl Gone

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, and subscribing. I decided to post a little more tonight, I just wasn't able to leave the characters where they were. To GatorGirl99: Glad you like the concept, like I said I've been playing with it for a while even before I started my other story but I couldn't seem to get the details ironed out in my head. At one point I thought about making Sophia older but change my mind I figured that would just be a little too odd plus the hunt for Sophia really helps define Daryl's character. On top of that I think Carol's back ground is really over looked and there's just so much you can do with it and telling it from her daughter's point of view you get a more detailed look at it.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Little Girl Gone**

Clara's bottom lip trembled as she looked at her mother, soft spoken Carol Peletier had never raised a voice to either of her daughters. "Mama I tried to get her, I did." She said her blue eyes filling with tears to the point that she couldn't see.

"Hey lets not play the blame game." Dale said putting an arm around Clara's shoulder.

"Rick's out there he'll find her." Shane said. "She couldn't have gotten too far."

Everyone was distracted when Daryl came back to the RV with T-Dog's arm draped over his shoulder. Both men were covered in blood. "Oh my god is he-" Lori pressed her hand to her mouth unable to finish the sentence.

"He ain't bit; just cut his arm real bad." Daryl said helping T set down and lean against the side of the RV. "What's with the long faces?"

"Two walkers got after my little sister." Clara said wiping her eyes. "Rick's gone to find her."

"Where's that first aid kit?" Lori asked as she pulled the make shift bandage off of T-Dog's arm and grimaced when she saw how bad the cut was.

"I got it." Carol said going into the RV.

"You alright…your mom?" Daryl asked Clara.

"Right as we can be I guess." She said crossing her arms over her stomach and walked back towards the RV.

Daryl had no idea why he was talking to the girl. It had started at the CDC; they would say a few words to each other nothing major. Until that point he'd seen her around camp, she mostly kept to herself sometimes he'd see her playing with her little sister or that little Mexican girl, hell if he could remember her name. Sometimes he'd see her talking to Amy but that was rare. The girls might have been close in age but that's where the similarities ended. Amy still had that 'little girl grown up' quality. It was clear to Daryl every time he saw her that Clara was older than her years. Even more so he'd heard the horrible things her father had screamed at her and her mother after all the walls of a tent didn't do much to muffle sound. He'd heard what was going on in the thin walls of their tent and he hadn't done anything about it, much like the other members of their pushed it from his mind reminding himself that it wasn't his place to interfere. Hell nobody had stopped his father from beating the hell out of him when he was a kid, and in his head that's how he'd rationalized it. He like everyone else in the camp knew Ed beat his wife and assumed that he beat his girls. What everyone else didn't know, besides Daryl and the Peletier family, was that Ed's sickness ran even deeper than taking pleasure in hurting someone weaker than him. Daryl had caught him in the act.

_It was early in the morning, sun had just begun to rise and shine down into the gorge. The people the camp were still asleep and it wouldn't be long before the rest of the camp started to stir and get about their day. Daryl who'd spent an uneventful evening on watch and was climbing off of the top of the RV when he saw Clara Peletier climb out of her family's tent; she was still clad in her pajamas and had her back pack over her shoulder. Undoubtedly she was heading down to the quarry for a bath before everyone got up. He didn't think much of this after all it was something they all did. The girl was almost 21 and could look after herself. What he did find disturbing was not two minutes later the girl's father climbed out of the tent and headed down the quarry as well. "Hey Dale…you ready to take over?" he asked when he saw the older man come out of the RV. "I have something I need to check." _

"_Nothing serious I hope." Dale said, so far they had been lucky and there hadn't been any walkers close to camp, that didn't mean things couldn't change. _

"_I thought that I saw a doe last night want to check the tracks." Daryl said. "Maybe get lucky find something other than squirrels and shit for dinner."_

"_Be careful." The old man said._

_Once the old man was in position in their make shift watch tower, Daryl headed down towards the quarry. He was starting to feel like a perverted old man after all, the girl was good ten years younger than he was. He made sure that he stood in the shadows, he didn't want to startle her if his hunch was wrong. As he came closer to the water, Daryl tried to ignore the girl in the water. He wasn't some kinda sick bastard but he was human after all. The sight of her bathing was enough to make his jeans feel a little too tight. He took a few deep breaths and made himself focus again; he was there for a reason. His vision turned red when he saw Ed Peletier standing in some brush his shorts around his ankles. Knowing that the man was amply distracted he snuck up behind him and pressed the barrel of his hand gun against the back of the perverts head. "You know what they do to sick fucks like you in prison?" he asked his voice low and menacing._

_Ed pissed himself when he realized Daryl was behind him. If there was anyone this little weasel of a man feared at their camp it was Daryl or Merle Dixon. Both of them were completely unpredictable both were crazy as fuck. "I-it's not what you think." He said his voice shaky as he pulled his shorts up and turned around his hands in the air. _

_Daryl didn't lower the gun, "Then you weren't up here touchin' your pencil dick while looking at your daughter? 'Cause that's sure as fuck what it looked like to me." _

"_Ain't nobody gonna believe you." Ed said, "Everyone knows you and your brother are nothing but fucking methed out tweekers." _

"_And everybody knows that you like to smack your wife around." Daryl said fighting down his anger at the man for accusing him of having Merle's sickness. "But here's the thing it don't matter if they believe me or not 'cause you and me both know the truth. We both know the truth, and we both know that I'll be watchin' you. If I ever catch you down here again watchin' anyone else while they're bathin' I will have you drawn and quartered faster than you can blink." Daryl turned to walk away he was so angry that he was shaking. _

"_That's right asshole you turn and walk away." Ed said putting a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. "You just better stay the fuck away from my family you hear me?" _

_Daryl turned around and slammed the older man against the tree hard enough his head snapped back. "You sure you wanna continue this conversation? Cause you ain't gonna like the results." He said his hand closing around Ed's throat. _

_Ed clawed at Daryl's hand trying to get him to let go before finally nodding in agreement. _

That memory was enough to piss Daryl off even to this day. To make matters worse Ed went to Shane saying that he'd attacked the man unprovoked which ended up being a hell of a lot more trouble than it was worth. Then not even two days later Shane nearly beat the man to death and was regaled as a hero while Daryl was considered a disturber of the peace.

* * *

Clara climbed onto the bus and set down on the bench seat in front of her mother. It had been hours since Sophia had went missing; Rick came back after killing the walkers that had been after her sister hoping she'd made it back to the highway. He'd gone out again looking for her this time taking Daryl, Glenn, and Shane with him hoping to widen their search. Lori and Andrea were trying to keep themselves busy none of them wanted to think the worse. "They're gonna find her mama." Clara said taking her mom's hands in her own.

Carol nodded, "I know and I don't blame you I was just upset." She said her voice cracking, "It's just that Sophia's never been strong like you, I've always had to worry about her. I never had to worry about you that way."

"I know." Clara said. "She's gonna be just fine. Rick's still out there looking for her and he took Daryl with him if anyone can track her it's him. Why don't you try to lie down for a while?"

"I can't…not without knowing."

"Please mama you haven't slept in days. Not since…not since He died. It won't do you any good if you make yourself sick, Sophia she's gonna need you when she gets back."

It was a while longer before Clara finally convinced her mother to rest. Once she was settled in she climbed off of the RV and walked over to the guard rail that Sophia had disappeared under. "You need to put some of this on that fair skin of yours, you'll be burnt up." Lori said handing her a bottle of sunblock she'd found.

"Thanks." She said pouring some of the cream in her hand and spreading it on her arms.

"How's your mama?" she asked helping Clara spread the sunblock on the parts of her back and neck that were visible around her tank top.

"I convinced her to rest." She said. "She's always had trouble with insomnia but He never let her take the pills to help her sleep. It's been worse since He died."

Lori nodded, she knew that Ed had been a bastard that he'd hit Carol but she wondered what he'd done to his daughters. While Clara was very friendly it hadn't gone past the older woman's notice that she never spoke about anything that happened before the world ended. Unless it was basic facts like she'd been in the middle of finals at a private university not far from Atlanta when all this happened. She hadn't been able to get any more information out of Carol or even Sophia, who was painfully shy. "There's gotta be something in one of these cars." Lori said.

They looked around until the sun started to set lower in the sky, it would be dark soon and they both knew it wouldn't due for them to be away from their make shift camp for long. On top of that they were all hungry, "The men will be back soon. Why don't we try to put together a meal for them?" Lori asked it didn't escape her knowledge that Andrea rolled her eyes at her.

"It's not a bad idea." Clara said ignoring Andrea.

"We didn't find much to make a meal on mostly just junk food." Lori said, "But it's better than nothing. Maybe when we get Sophia found, Daryl can try for a deer or at this point I'd settle for squirrel. We're far enough away from town that the game should be better out here."

Clara never got a chance to answer her she saw the men coming out of the woods. "Did you find her?" she called running over to the guard rail with Lori and Carol who'd heard the commotion inside the RV.

"We found her trail." Daryl said. Clara noticed that when he talked to her and her mother his voice was different, softer. "We followed it for a while, we're gonna have to pick it up again in the morning."

"She's just a little girl; you can't leave her out in the woods by herself at night." Carol sobbed her knees almost going out. Clara wrapped her arms around her distraught mother.

"There's nothing more we could do tonight. It won't do her any good havin' us out there we'd just be trippin' over ourselves in the dark." Daryl said. He wasn't sure why but having to tell them this made him feel like a bastard.

"This is your fault!" she turned her anger to Rick, "How could you leave her out there she's just a little girl!"

"There were two walkers after us I had to take care of them." Rick tried to explain even though he knew that there was nothing he could do or say, save bringing back the distraught woman's daughter that would calm her down.

"Mama he did what he had to, it doesn't sound like he had any other choice." Clara stroked her mother's hair as she cried.

"Let's get you inside Carol." Andrea said as she and Lori helped her back to the RV.

Clara wrapped her arms around her middle and turned back to Daryl she paled when she noticed the stains on his jeans. "Is that….blood?"

Daryl laid his cross bow down and walked over to where the young woman was standing. The way she paled he was half scared she was gonna faint on him. "I killed a walker out there."

"A walker?" she asked looking up at him her big blue eyes wide.

"It didn't…." he said not able to finish the sentence.

"How can you be sure?" she asked.

Daryl swallowed hard knowing there was no delicate way to put this, "We cut the some bitch open." He said. "We're gonna find your little sister."

"I hope so." She said as silent tears fell on her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3: What Doesn't Kill Us

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. To Leyshla Gisel: Yeah Ed Peletier is a sick son of a bitch and we've only seen a fraction of how sick he truly is. : I'm glad you like the concept like I said I've had in my head for a while I just couldn't figure out the details.

This is one of those chapters that cover a lot of ground. I'm really wanting to get them to the far as quickly as I can so please bear with me. Once I get them there then we'll have more Daryl/Clara one on one time.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger**

Things had never been more tense than they were the next day. It had been almost twenty four hours since they'd last saw Sophia and were nowhere close to finding her. Clara didn't want to feel discouraged but it seemed like the longer they looked the more lost her baby sister was. If they world was a big scary place before all of this had happened, it seemed even bigger and scarier now. Around noon or so they got what they believed to be their first clue, the chiming of bells from a church steeple. Clara looked up at Daryl with the first feeling of hope she'd felt since the day before. "You think she could be ringing the bells?" she asked.

"We need to hurry if it's her she might not just be alerting us where she's at. Any walker still in the area's gonna think that's the dinner bell." Rick said.

By the time they made it to they found the church the bells had already stopped. "SOPHIA?" Rick called.

"Rick there's no steeple there's no bells this isn't the church." Shane said but everyone had already run up to the front of the church pulling the doors opened. To their surprise the not even death could keep the God fearing country folk from the service. Three members of the church's congregation were setting in the pews wearing their best 'Sunday Go to Meeting' clothes. As soon as they smelled the fresh blood at the door they all rose and started to come after them. Without a second thought Rick, Daryl, and Shane put the walkers down using their 'silent' weapons. "Hey JC, you takin' requests?" Daryl said cockily, he walked towards the alter where a very large crucifix was.

"SOPHIA!" Rick yelled again only this time sound much more desperate.

"I'm telling you this is the wrong church Rick it's got no steeple." Shane said to his and everyone else's surprise the bells chimed again.

Daryl, Glenn, and Clara ran outside hoping to find a happy ending with the answer to the bells. Unfortunately, all they found was a loud speaker connected to a timed recording. "It's on a timer." Daryl said to Rick and Shane. "It's on a timer." He repeated as Glenn disarmed it.

By this point everyone was starting to feel discouraged again. They'd been looking for Sophia all day and there hadn't been a trace of her. "I think I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol said.

Clara walked over and set down on the concrete steps and pulled a bottle of water from her back pack. She didn't want to go back into the church she'd lost her faith long before this all happened. Running her hand over her sweat covered brow, she listened to her mother inside.

Carol kneeled down in front of the alter and looked up at the crucifix, "Father forgive me, I don't deserve your mercy. I prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished, for laying his hands on me and our girls, and for looking at his own daughters whatever his sickness was. I prayed you'd put a stop to it, to give me a chance to raise them right and help them not make my mistakes. And now Sophia's gone and she's so fearful she's not cut out for this world. She's so young and she hasn't had a chance." She prayed her voice cracking with tears. "Praying for Ed's death was a sin and I was wrong for that. Please don't let this be my punishment. Let her be safe alive and safe, please Lord. Punish me however you find fit but show mercy on her."

Unable to listen to anymore Clara stood up and started to walk away she was surprised when she saw Daryl standing there holding his crossbow. "You alright?" he asked lifting his hand to biting his thumb nail.

"That's a really disgusting habit you have, are you trying to grow a hand in your stomach?" she asked avoiding his question.

Daryl knew what her tactic was; he'd done it himself far too many times in the past. Try to divert a question by making an off the wall statement about something else. "Sometimes it's easier for people to cope with things when they think they're prayin' to some greater power." He said ignoring her comment.

"Yeah well there's nobody listening." She said her voice full of venom as she walked past him. She loved her mom so much but there were some times like now when she couldn't understand her or her ideology. "She's always been like that. Instead of doing something about," she paused since his death she hadn't been able to call him 'dad' or even say his name, "Him, instead of keeping Him from doing the things that He did she'd go to church and pray and nothing happened. It took a whole fucking zombie apocalypse to stop Him."

Daryl followed her he lied to himself and said it was because the last thing they needed was to lose another member of their group, truth was he was drawn to her. "Did he-" he didn't get a chance to finish before she cut him off.

"He never touched me like that." She said. "But does it really matter? He hurt his wife and daughters, isn't that crime enough?"

As soon as he heard the words he felt relief for about a millisecond but there was something about the way she said it that made him feel like there was more to it but he didn't press her. He'd find a way to get the answer from her. "My old man he was a lot like yours." He said his voice low soft, "Liked to get drunk and use his fists on me and Merle. I know how it feels you up with anger and hate. Now I'm like you, I don't put much stock in hopes and prayers, I believe in what a man can make of himself. But maybe all them prayers you and your mom and your sister sent up were answered. The way he died it was pretty bad not something I'd wish on my worst enemies. I mean he got ate by a she-walker. Maybe without the world going to shit Ed couldn't get what he deserved."

Clara thought about it for a few minutes, "Not a bad theory." She said.

"All that anger you have inside of you, use it. That's goin' to help you survive this shit." He said.

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." She said.

"That's right." He said.

After they'd all taken a good rest, looked for clues to where Sophia might be hiding, Rick decided to divide the groups up to cover more ground as they headed back towards the highway. With any luck they'd be able to find her. Shane, Rick, and Carl went one way while the rest of the group went the other. The sun was starting to set and everyone was exhausted. "So is this it, this is the plan?" Carol asked as she set down on a fallen long needing a breather.

"The plan is to whittle us down to smaller groups and try to cover more ground." Daryl said leaning against a tree.

"With knives and pointy sticks for weapons." Andrea said bitterly and glared at Lori, "I see you have a gun."

"You want it? Here take it" Lori asked she thrust the gun at Andrea, "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me, all of you." She said then looked at Carol, "Honey I can't imagine what you're going through but you're going to have to stop looking at Rick like this is all his fault. It's written all over your face every time you look at him. And when Sophia ran he didn't hesitate not for a second did he? I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did or make the hard decisions he's making or if anyone could have done it any differently. You all look to him and you blame him but he's not perfect. If you think you can do this without him go right ahead nobody is stopping you."

Andrea handed the gun back to Lori, "We should keep moving." She said.

As they started moving through the woods they heard a gunshot break out of the silence. It was so loud that it could have easily been mistaken for thunder if it wasn't for the fact that it was a clear evening. "That was a gunshot." Lori said her voice quivering.

"We all heard it." Daryl said he wanted to get them all out of the woods before night fall.

"Do you think everything's okay?" Clara asked.

Lori shook her head, "Why one why just one gunshot?"

"Maybe they were taking down a walker." Daryl said.

"Don't patronize me, you know Rick or Shane wouldn't use a bullet to take down one walker they'd do it quietly." Lori said.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked.

"There's nothin' we can do about it anyway. We can't be runnin' around these woods chasing echoes." Daryl said.

"So what do we do?" Lori asked.

"Same as we've been doin', beat the bush look for Sophia and head back towards the highway." Daryl said.

"I'm sure they'll meet us back at the RV." Clara said trying to comfort Lori.

As they started head towards the highway Andrea wrapped her arm around Carol, "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel."

Carol nodded, "I suppose you do, thank you." She said her voice cracking, "It's just the thought of her out here by herself, it's the not knowing that's killing me. I just keep hoping and praying she don't wind up like Amy." When she realized that she stuck her foot in her mouth she turned back to Andrea, "I'm so sorry that's a terrible thing to say."

"No we're all right there hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth." Andrea said.

"I'll tell you what it's worth not a damn thing." Daryl said he knew that Clara was at her wits end with all the talk of prayer and the girl had been through enough. To be honest he was right there with her. "It's just a waste of time all this hopin' and prayin'. We're just gonna locate that little girl and she's gonna be just fine. Am I the only one Zen around here? Good lord."

Clara bit back a smile as they started to walk again, Daryl Dixon, Zen indeed.

They were close to the highway when they got another surprise. A walker came out of some brush at Andrea, causing her to scream. Before anyone had a chance to take it down a woman came out of the woods on a horse and smashed it in the face with a baseball bat. In a blink of an eye they were informed that there had been an accident involving Carl and that Rick needed Lori to be there. After a much one sided discussion about whether or not Lori could go with the girl or get on the horse, she was off but not without the woman directing the rest of the group to follow, she gave directions to her house before riding off with Lori. Once they got back to the highway where they'd set up temporary camp in the RV they explained to Dale and T-Dog what was going on. "We need to get to that farm and reconnect with our group." Dale said.

"No, we can't leave my little girl out there we have to find her." Carol protested.

"Mama we're divided, Rick and Shane are at the farm." Clara said.

"What if Sophia comes back and we're gone?" Carol asked.

"That would be awful." Andrea said.

"Why don't you all head out I'll stay here with the RV in case she comes back." Daryl said. "In the morning I'll rig up a sign and leave her some supplies."

"If the RV is staying then I'm staying." Dale said.

"Me too." Clara agreed.

"I'm in. "Andrea said.

"Well if you're all staying-" Glenn started but Dale cut him off.

"No, not you Glenn, you're going to the farm." Dale said Glenn. "You have to take T-Dog there that cut has gone from bad to worse he has a serious blood infection. He needs some antibiotics imminently."

Daryl walked over to where his bike was and opened up the saddle bag on the side and pulled out a jumbo freezer bag full of drugs legal and illegal alike. "Why did you wait until now to say anything? I got my brother's stash: Crystal, X don't need that, some kick ass painkillers." He tossed the bottle to Glenn and grabbed another bottle out and tossed it to Dale, "Doxycycline not the generic stuff either, that's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion." He said nonchalantly as if it explained everything before walking away and stuffed the rest back down in the bag.

* * *

As the sun set they said good bye to T-Dog and Glenn and watched as they drove away in Carol's SUV before settling back into the RV. They had a meager meal of stale potato chips and pink vitamin water before they settled in for the night. Unable to handle Carol's tears, the constant mechanical sound of Andrea stripping her gun down, and the flipping of pages in the book that Clara was reading Daryl stood up and grabbed his crossbow off of the table. "I think I'm gonna walk up the highway look for the little girl." He said.

"I'm coming with you." Clara said laying the book aside and grabbing her back pack and flash light before following him outside. She'd been looking for any excuse to get away.

"We're gonna head up the road shine some light, if Sophia's out there it will give her something to look at." Daryl said to Dale.

"Is that a good idea?" Dale asked.

"We'll be fine." Clara assured him.

They walked up the highway for a while before heading over the guard rail and into the woods. The more they walked the more Clara wondered if she'd ever see her sister again. In the pit of her stomach there was sick feeling of guilt. The past few years since she'd went away to the university she hadn't really had much time for her sister. There had been so many times that she could have went home for the weekend to see them but she didn't. She'd been doing everything she could to distance herself from her father. She had no idea what the repercussions of that had caused. "Tell me honestly, Daryl do you think we'll find my little sister?" she asked.

Daryl looked over at her, "What the hell's wrong with you people we just started lookin'."

"Well?" Clara asked.

"This ain't the mountains of Tibet its Georgia, she could be holed up in a farm house somewhere. People get lost and survive it happens all the time." He said shining his light on the path in front of them.

"She's just 12."

"Hell I was younger than her and I got lost nine days in the woods eating berries and wipin' my ass with poison oak." He said.

"Someone found you?" she asked looking up at him.

"Nah my old man was on a bender with some waitress and Merle was doing another stent in juvi. They didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though, went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. I'm no worse for wear except my ass itched somethin' awful."

Clara couldn't help but laugh as Daryl cut her a dirty look, "Sorry…that's horrible." She said then laughed again this time he joined her.

"Difference is Sophia has people looking for her. She has you and your mom, I call that an advantage." He said.

They walked along for a while longer with nothing but the sounds of the forest at night to accompany them. It was nice, Clara thought, not having to chatter on aimlessly about things that don't matter anymore. After a while they happened upon someone's abandoned camp site the smell was overwhelming. It was one that in the past several months Clara had become accustomed to, it was the smell of death. "What the hell?" Daryl asked shinning his flash light around. Hanging from a tree was a walker trying desperately to get to him and Clara. There was a not attached to the tree, Daryl read it, "_Got bit, fever hit, world gone to shit, might as well quit_. Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. He turned himself into a big swingin' piece of bait. Look at that mess."

"Oh God," she said pressing her hand to her mouth as she felt her stomach clinch. There wasn't much in it but she was pretty sure what was there would come back up.

"You alright?" he asked still looking up at the walker in the tree who was trying desperately to get to him and Clara.

"Trying not to puke." She said leaning over.

"Well go ahead if you gotta." Daryl he looked over his shoulder at her then looked back to the walker.

"Can we talk about something else?" she asked trying to get her stomach under control. "Anything else."

"This is the closest he's been to food since he's turned; look at him hanging up there like a big piñata. The other geeks came and eat all the flesh off of his legs." Daryl said shining his light on them.

That was it took, the meager meal Clara had ate decided to repeat itself. "I thought we were talking about something else." She said.

"That's what you get for laughing at my itchy ass." Daryl said handing her his water bottle.

She rinsed her mouth out before talking a long drink. "We're even." She said handing it back to him. "You're not going to leave him up there are you?"

"Why not he's not hurtin' anyone he made his choice." He said.

"Please?" she asked looking over at him.

"An answer for an arrow." He said.

"Fine." Clara said looking at him. "Ask."

"Did your father touch you?" he asked.

She sighed, "I thought we went over that, He never touched me."

"Ain't good enough I wanna know what he done to you." Daryl said.

"Why?" she asked.

To be honest he wasn't really sure why he wanted to know but part of him deep down needed the answer. "So we both agree that he did do something right?" he asked.

"That's a second question which means if I answer them you'll be indebted to me two arrows." Clara said.

"Now you're makin' up extra rules." He said.

"You were the one that said an arrow for an answer." She said. "If I give you two answers that means you'll take that walker out and will be indebted to me an arrow."

"Fine." Daryl said.

"He didn't exactly do something to me." She said.

Daryl frowned as he thought about what she said before pure rage washed through him. He aimed his bow at the walker and shot it square in the head before turning to her, "He made you do things to him."

Clara nodded before turning to walk away from the abandoned camp.


	4. Chapter 4: Sanctuary

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. To GatorGirl99: My favorite Weekend Nazi, when I set down to write this I didn't want to do something that has been overdone which is why I decided to give the suspected abuse a twist. Daryl also wishes that Ed was alive so he could torture him slowly. To Leyshla Gisel: I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to handle the flashbacks as far as what Ed done to her, because it's a whole lot disturbing. To Emberka-2012: I agree they have this thing where they don't have to use all those pesky words to understand each other and they do have a lot in common with my other story I gave Daryl a character that was sorta at the other end of the spectrum from him and I didn't want to do the same thing again. To BellaLuz64: I think Carol gets sainted a lot in fan fic it's like everyone's afraid to step on her toes because of what she'd been through with Ed and then later on loosing Sophia. The truth is she made a whole lot of mistakes and that's the reason I can't bring myself to write her as a significant other for Daryl. Clara has a love hate relationship with her mother which we'll get into as the story progresses.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Sanctuary **

The next day they packed up what supplies they'd salvaged from the abandoned cars and headed out to find the Greene family's farm. Though it was just a simple old farm it came to them like a welcome dream. The house wasn't boarded up and forlorn. There was life here and it seemed untouched by death. As Rick, Lori, Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog poured out of the house it was like being reunited with family. Though they'd only been apart a day it had seemed like a lifetime. After introductions had been made everyone set off to work, they had to organize the search party for Sophia and get camp set up. They chose a spot near the farm house so that Rick and Lori could be close to Carl but far enough away to give Hershel and his family privacy while maintaining their own. After much debate Dale offered a place in the RV for Carol and Clara he wanted things to be nice when they found Sophia. "That's lovely Dale thank you." Carol said.

"I appreciate it Dale, but if you don't mind I'd rather stay in a tent." Clara said then looked to her mother. "I mean if it's alright with you. There's only so much space in the RV."

Carol nodded still a little surprised, "Sure sweetie."

"Thanks." Clara said. She was pulling her things out of the back of the Cherokee when Daryl walked up to them.

"I'm gonna head out, look for the little girl. Maybe try to find some game while I'm out." He said the tone of his voice was hard. It hadn't escaped anyone's notice that Daryl had been acting differently since the night before when he and Clara went into the woods. Something had happened but nobody was willing to risk their necks to find out what it was. When he was pissed Daryl Dixon went straight for the jugular and everyone knew it.

"Thank you Daryl." Clara said looking up at him.

"Whatever." Daryl grunted before heading out towards the woods not sparing her another look.

Clara sighed as she grabbed the plastic tote that held her things and carried it over to the tent that Glenn and T-Dog had set up for her near one of the large trees in the yard. She knew that she was the reason Daryl was pissed, she knew she should have lied to him about it but she just couldn't bring herself to. She'd been holding it in for so long and there was something about Daryl she trusted. He wasn't the type to go off and tell everyone about it.

* * *

Clara walked into the RV where her mother had been since they got back from the highway to check for Sophia. Since then she'd been scrubbing the RV, Clara knew that she was trying to keep her mind off of everything that was going on. She'd found a few of her sisters things mixed in with her own. "Smells better in here," She said. "I found some of Sophia's things thought they should be in here."

"Thank you." Carol said taking the things from her daughter. There was the scrapbook that Clara had made for her before she left for college, her checker board, and her favorite floral print cotton summer dress. She ran her fingertips gently over the fabric of the dress before walking to the back to put them away.

"We're gonna find her mama." Clara said.

Carol didn't get a chance to answer as Daryl walked into the RV. He looked around for a few minutes, looking around to see the improvement Carol had made to the RV, before walking to the back and setting down a beer bottle with a beautiful white flower sticking out of the top. Clara was surprised, Daryl and flowers they didn't exactly mix well. "A flower?" Carol asked she too was just surprised at her daughter.

Daryl gave the women a slightly uncomfortable look, "It's a Cherokee Rose," he paused and stepped on into the room and started to explain, "The story is, that when American soldiers were movin' Indians off of their land, upon the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' and cryin' so much cause they were loosin' their little ones along the way, exposure, disease, and starvation a lot of them just…disappeared. So the elders they said a prayer asked for a sign to uplift the mother's spirits to give them strength and hope. The next day this rose it started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers…bloomin' for my brother. But I believe this one…it bloomed for your little girl." He turned to walk away looking back at them one more time. "She's gonna really like it in here."

Clara wiped her eyes and followed Daryl out of the RV, "Thank you, for what you did for my mom." She said.

"Whatever." Daryl said as he kept on walking.

She followed him towards where he had his tent set up further away from the others. "Look I know you're angry at me-"

He spun around and the look he gave her was so fierce it made her recoil. "I'm not angry at you good lord woman!" he snapped.

"Then what is your damn problem?" she asked. "You haven't been civil to me since we got back to the RV last night. Why did you ask that question when you sure as hell didn't want the answer?" Daryl was taken back he honestly wasn't sure why he'd asked the question and was surprised at the anger and hurt he heard in her voice. More than that he was so use to these people backing off when he snapped at them, Clara didn't. "That's what I thought. " She went on. "How about this, you can forget that you heard it and we'll go back to pretending nothings' wrong. I'll even forget that you're in debt to me."

Daryl just stared at her, did she honestly think it was that easy once you learn something you can't unlearn it no matter how hard you tried. "I'm not angry at you." He bit out. "I'm angry at him for what he did to you."

Clara sighed as she wrapped her arms around her middle, "I told you he didn't do anything to me."

"And that's even worse because you don't see it. He has you thinking that what he did was okay because he didn't touch you, which is sick."

"Is that what you think, that I don't He was wrong?" she asked her voice full of emotion. "That I think it was okay? I was fourteen years old when He started coming into my room at night. Mama she worked nights so it was easy for Him." She her voice cracked as tears poured down her cheeks. "My first kiss was with Him and you think I think that's okay? He never let my mama dress nice and she wasn't allowed to wear make-up but He made sure me and Sophia had the best because we were His pride, that's what He called us. I went away to school so I could get away from Him so it would stop. It didn't stop though you know why? Cause He moved on to Sophia I thought she was safe because she was so young!"

Daryl stood there in complete shock for several minutes before walking over to her and putting his arms around her. He didn't know how it worked, this comfort thing. He hated tears, he was use to women using them to get what they wanted but that wasn't the case here. "Come on, let's get you inside." He said knowing she wouldn't want anyone to see her like this.

He led her to her tent and set her down on her 'bed' before kneeling down in front of her. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. "He can't hurt you or your sister anymore." He said after a long pause.

"How did you know?" she asked knowing he'd know what she meant.

"I saw him one mornin', I was getting off of watch and he followed you down to the quarry was watching you bathe." He said. "I knew something wasn't right I just never thought it would be…this."

"I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone Mama she couldn't handle it." She said handing him the piece of cloth back.

He shook his head, "You think I want somethin' with your snot and tears all over it?" he asked trying to do anything to make her smile.

"Gee thanks Daryl." She said.

"You gonna be alright, no more tantrums and shit?" he asked.

"That wasn't a tantrum; in fact I believe you started that."

"How did I manage that I didn't even say anything to you?" he asked her hands resting on the bed on either side of her legs.

"You kept 'whatever'ing me do you have any idea how annoying that is?" she asked.

"You're the one with the short fuse not me." He said.

She raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

"Yeah I happen to have a mild disposition it's all ya'll that have issues." He said.

"That right?" she couldn't help but laugh.

"There it is." Daryl grinned.

"There what is?" she asked confused.

"That laugh…its' a good laugh I think I've only heard you do it twice now since I've known you."

"You haven't known me long." She said.

"You should still do it more." He said pushing one of her wild curls from her face and kissing her softly.


	5. Chapter 5: Looks Like Rain

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I'm going to be breaking away from cannon, I'll be keeping the hunt for Sophia obviously, but there are ideas that I want to delve into and I really loved the farm and wanted to do more with it. And of course if anyone wonders what my original characters look like there are pictures on my profile I've always been the type of writer to 'cast' my characters Clara, I see as Taylor Swift. To Emberka-2012: It's more along the lines of Daryl liking Clara's laugh than him liking to laugh. To Zaii: If Ed was still alive and Daryl caught up with him I imagine what he would do would make a combination of Gerard Butler in _Law Abiding Citizen_ and Liam Neeson in _Taken_ look like child's play.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Looks Like Rain**

Clara walked up to where Daryl was standing she knew that he'd been avoiding her since he'd kissed her in her tent. In fact he'd been avoiding her for almost three days. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, she didn't have a lot of experience in the wide world of men but she didn't think she did anything wrong. She knew that they were getting ready to launch a wider search for her little sister and she couldn't sit back with her mother and wait to see what happened. "I want to go with you to look for Sophia." She said leaning against the side of the truck where they had the maps of the area laid out.

Daryl looked down at the girl he'd been doing his best to keep away from her. He was pissed off at himself, more pissed than he'd ever been in his entire life. He had no idea what had happened in that tent but one minute they'd been talking and then the next thing he knew he was kissing the shit out of her. What made it worse, what he hated himself for, was that she'd just got done telling him that her first kiss had been with her fucking father. She had been emotional and her fucking sister was missing and he took advantage of the situation. In his book that made him no better than Ed Peletier. "Rick and Shane's breakin' everyone down to groups to cover ground." He said dismissing her.

"And I want to go with you. Let's be realistic you're the only one who really believes that she's still out there. Rick feels guilty and Shane…well he's Shane. Everyone else thinks she's dead or worse. They don't want to believe it but they do. They're trying to humor my mother." She said looking up at him.

Daryl hated when she looked up at him with those big sparkling blue eyes, that's what gets him into trouble where she's concerned. "I don't think it's a good idea." He said.

"Why because you kissed me and then left?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "It was a fluke one of those things that happened but we don't have to make a big deal out of it."

He wasn't sure what bothered him more the fact that she totally disregarded the idea of him or that she seemed un-phased by his kisses. Both hurt his pride just a little not that he ever intended to admit it. She was right when she said it was just a fluke it was something that would never happen again. That meant that he was going to make sure that he wasn't alone with her again and he wasn't going to look her in the eye again either. "Nah it's just that I can cover more ground alone. You don't know how to track and you don't know how to shoot you'd just be a burden."

She pursed her lips and nodded at him. "You've been around my sister how much?" she asked. "I don't think you've said more than three words to her. While you're an amazing hunter and tracker I bet you have no idea how to handle a little girl if you did find her. Keep in mind Sophia is very shy she probably wouldn't come out for just anyone. The rest well, Sophia's had more contact with them, especially Rick and Lori. You need me Daryl."

He sighed and thought over what she was saying she did have a point. "Shouldn't you stay here with your mom?" he asked his resolve starting to fade.

"Probably but she's looking after Carl for Lori." Clara said. "And I can't handle staying here while everyone is out looking for her."

He sighed, "Get your shit."

"I thought you would see things my way." She winked at him before heading back to her tent.

As Daryl watched her walk away he wondered exactly what it was about that girl affected him so much. He'd never had a female do this to him before, he'd been with a few but by the time the dust settled they'd parted ways neither no worse for wear. Clara Peletier was different, he just didn't know what it was that made her so different. It wasn't because she was beautiful, he'd been around women that were physically more beautiful than she was but there was something about her. The way she laughed, he'd never set much in store by laughter but her laugh it made him feel lighter. He wondered if he would have given her another look if Merle had still been around. Merle didn't have much opinion about women, he'd never hurt one the way Ed had hurt his girls and his wife but he didn't have use for them either. Course he and Merle had disagreed on a lot of things. Most the time Daryl just went along with what he said because it was easier than listening to him bitch and Merle had been a Grade-A Bitcher. It was then that Daryl realized that it was the first time he'd thought about his brother in a long time.

He was pondering that thought when Clara came out of her tent. She'd changed into a pair of worn out jeans and a blue plaid flannel shirt that made her eyes look even more blue and hiking boots. That crazy curly hair of hers was smoothed back in a braid and she had her back pack filled with supplies that they might need. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, here take this just in case." He said pulling his hunting knife off of his belt and handing it to her.

She frowned as she looked at it before snapping it onto her own belt, "Won't you need it?" she asked.

"I got us covered." He assured her as he pulled his crossbow over his shoulder.

The woods weren't exactly Clara's element, not the way it was Daryl's. She could tell by the way he clinched his jaw that he was getting annoyed every time he had to grab her arm to steady her or help her down a steep hill. "We're about a mile or so from where I found that flower." He said. "There's a farm house there someone had stayed the night there slept in a cupboard recently."

"You think it was Sophia?" she asked pulling a bottle of water from her pack and taking a drink before handing it to him.

"Whoever stayed in it wasn't no bigger than yay high." He said measuring out about Sophia's height before taking a drink of the water.

"When Mama would fight with Him she used to hide in in my closet." She said. "I found her sleeping in there a lot of nights. It would make sense that she'd try to find familiar comfort."

"Did you use to hide?" he asked.

"Are you sure you want to know the answer?" she asked, he just stared at her. "The attic."

Daryl nodded, "We should probably keep moving. Sky's overcast, stands a chance we could get some weather." He started to move further into the woods. Clara stuffed her hands in her pockets and followed him.

True to his prediction it wasn't long before the sky visible between the branches of the trees turned black and the sky erupted in heavy rain, thunder and lightning. When the storm came, the warmth was sucked from the early autumn day. Normally a storm like this Daryl wouldn't have been phased he'd have found a cave to hide out in until the weather changed. Clara couldn't handle the harsh conditions she was already soaked through and visibly shivering. "Come on we gotta find shelter." He said the only place he could think of was the abandoned farmhouse he'd mentioned earlier.

Clara wasn't sure what it was about the cold rain but she just couldn't seem to keep up with Daryl. She was mentally kicking her own ass for forcing him to bring her with him. She knew he was getting pissed off at her and she didn't blame him. What made things worse was that she was worried about Sophia being out in this weather. She was so lost in thought that she was taken by surprise when a walker came from behind a tree right at her. Clara screamed and grabbed the walker by its tattered shirt as she lost her balance. She completely forgot about the hunting knife Daryl had given her earlier that day. Her foot was caught in a tree root and when she fell backwards she felt the agonizing pain of her ankle snapping.

Daryl was quick to act; he aimed his crossbow and fired it directly at the walker's head killing it instantly. "I got ya girl." He said jerking the corpse off of her and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the black blood from her face.

"M-my ankle." She said her voice trembling.

"Gimme your back pack." He said helping her take it off. He threw it over his shoulder and effortlessly lifted her into his arms. Clara wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him. She didn't say anything as he carried her to the old house.

Once Daryl had her in the farm house he did a quick sweep making sure that it was still as abandoned as it had been when he first stumbled onto it. He worked fast building a fire in the grate and finding as many dry blankets and towels as he could. Unfortunately though, clothes were another matter he managed to find an old flannel and some pants that would fit him. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes before you get a cold." He said walking into the living room. "Plus I need to look at that ankle."

"I thought the best thing would be to leave the boot on." She said her eyes wide.

"If it's swellin' it will make it more painful." He said. "I think I heard a snap when you went down. I'll be as easy as I can."

She nodded clinching her fists at her sides. "Just do it."

Daryl pulled his hunting knife from her belt and cut the laces from her boots before gently pulling it off and dropping it to the floor beside of him. He rolled her sock down and visibly winced when he saw her swollen black and purple ankle. "Fuck." He said. "You did a good job on this." She glared at him and gave him the finger causing him to laugh, "Let's get you out of those clothes once you're dry I'll figure a way to wrap it as best as I can. We'll need to get you back to Hershel as soon as we can."

"Get me out of these clothes?" she blinked at him and swallowed hard.

"I found a shirt that you can put on and some blankets for you to wrap up in. It's not like I'm trying to seduce you." He said nervously. "Once you get your shirt off and this other one on I'll help you stand up and we'll get you out of those jeans. I promise I won't look at you." He wanted her to feel more comfortable in what was a very uncomfortable situation.

"Okay." Clara said almost shyly. She waited for Daryl to give her his back before she started to unbutton her shirt. The shirt that he'd given her was twice her size and hung to her mid-thigh and even when the buttons completely buttoned it still managed to hang off of on shoulder. Once she had the dry shirt on she cleared her throat. "Okay I'm ready."

Daryl walked over to her and helped her stand up, his hands resting on her tiny waist while making sure she didn't put any weight on her injured ankle. "Just hold on to me okay?"

"Okay." She said wrapping her arms around his neck.

Daryl tried to keep his eyes locked with hers as he fumbled with her belt and the fastens of her jeans. After a few difficult and slightly embarrassing moments he got her jeans undone. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pushed them over her hips. "You okay?" he asked his own voice a little husky as he held her to him.

Clara nodded her cheeks bright red, "I'm fine."

He set her down on the couch and finished pulling her jeans off before covering her legs with a blanket. "You're like ice." He said even with the blazing fire she was still chilled to the bone. He hoped he could get her warmed the last thing either of them needed was for her to catch a cold.

"I'll be fine." She assured him. "You need to get out of those clothes too."

"I'm gonna check the perimeter first." He said walking out of the house.


	6. Chapter 6: Hiding from the Storm

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. To Leyshla Gisel: I love putting characters in situations like this it makes things fun. And they're not completely naked they do have one pair of pants and one dry shirt between the two of them. To my Anonymous Reviewer: I think that there is something romantic about thunderstorms I've always loved them. Plus it gives Daryl and Clara a chance to be alone without being interrupted.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Hiding from the Storm**

For the next hour or so Daryl done everything he could to stay away from Clara which was hard considering they were stuck in a farm house during a thunderstorm one that didn't seem like it would be breaking anytime soon. To keep his mind off of the softness of her thighs, the sweet smell of her hair, or the way she held onto him looking up at him with so much trust in her eyes, he'd been making sure the place was secure for the night. He couldn't get the way she looked up at him out of his mind he'd never had someone look at him like that before. He'd always looked after himself he'd never had to take care of anyone else and it kinda made him feel good. Knowing he couldn't avoid her forever he headed back inside, he dried off and changed into the pair of pants he'd found upstairs. They were a little loose on him and hung low on his hips. To be honest he was a little uncomfortable for her to see him without a shirt on. It wasn't exactly the fact that his back and torso were covered in raised crisscross patterns of scars though that did have a little to do with it. It was more along the line of, for as long as he could remember he had been self-conscious about his body. Even when he was working out in the heat and the other men he worked construction with stripped their shirts off he'd always made sure to wear a wife beater or a light tee shirt. He walked into the living room and hung his clothes over the back of the chair they were using as a make shift clothes line. "Let's get that ankle wrapped." He said turning back to her, she'd loosed her hair from its braid and was drying it with one of the towels he'd found. The sight of her like that, in a very undressed state with her hair crazy all over the place was enough to drive him to distraction. "I found some planks to keep it from moving once it's immobile it should help with the pain." He picked up one of the smaller blankets and started cutting it into long strips.

"Okay." Clara said as she pulled the blanket off of the injured ankle. In the time that it took Daryl to secure the house her ankle and foot had doubled inside. He knew he needed to get her back to the farm as soon as he could.

"I'll try to go easy." He promised as he took one of the long strips and carefully wrapped it around the ankle mostly to keep the wood from digging into her delicate skin.

"I know." She said trying to keep her eyes from trailing over his body after all he'd been a complete gentleman about her nakedness. Of course it was hard not to look and react to the scars she saw there.

Daryl knew that she was looking at his scars but he was thankful that she didn't ask about them. She might have shared some of her deepest secrets with him but he wasn't going to open up about his own. "This is gonna hurt." He said placing the wood planks on either side of her ankle, "I need you to hold these in place while I wrap them."

"Okay." She said leaning up to hold him the way he'd showed her. She tried to keep from crying as he tightly bound her ankle.

"Hey it's done." He said as he finished wrapping her ankle. He wished that he had something to give her for the pain. He briefly thought of the bottle of kick ass pain killers that was at the farm along with the rest of Merle's stash. He knew that even if it was still raining in the morning he'd have to risk it get her back to the farm.

"I'm fine." She said her voice quivering.

"I'm gonna see if there's anything here that might help take the edge off of that pain." He said cupping her cheek he didn't like knowing that she was hurt and there was nothing he could do for her.

"I'll be fine." She promised as she looked up at him. "But food would be nice. There's a few things in my back pack, maybe I didn't squish them when I fell, nothing major just some granola and stuff."

"Sounds….appetizing," He made a face as he stood up and walked out of the room, "I'm gonna see if there's anything in the pantry in the kitchen to eat."

"Hey it's good for you." She said.

"I'm sure there's bound to be something here." He said pretending he hadn't heart her as he went into the kitchen. He came back a while later carrying a few cans of soup a pot and a can opener. "Found some soup."

"Sounds better than granola." She said.

"It's nothing fancy just some crappy vegetable kind." He said opening the cans and pouring them into the pot before holding it over the fire.

"After being out in that," She said nodding to the window where the plantation shutters were whistling from the wind and rain. "Soup no matter how crappy sounds amazing."

Once the soup was hot Daryl divided the soup between them. "Careful." He said handing her a bowl and spoon.

"Thank you Daryl." She said watching him for a few seconds before she started to eat. He was right about the soup it was pretty crappy but the fact that it was hot and she was starving made up for it. They were quiet through their meal the only sound besides the scraping of spoons was the crash of thunder, the howling of wind, and the clamor of rain on the house's tin roof.

When they'd finished eating Daryl cleared their dirty dishes away before getting things ready for them to settle down for the night. He'd pushed the couch she'd been lounging on closer to the fire not wanting her to get cold. "Where are you going to sleep?" she asked.

"I figured I'll keep watch." He said.

"You should rest, I really doubt we'll be having any undead visitors in this mess." She said. "They're not exactly the most coordinated."

He raised an eyebrow, "That's the pot callin' the kettle."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It was a fluke."

"You seem to have a lot of those." He pointed out.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Cause that's what you called our kiss." He said still not ready to admit that he was hurt over being dismissed so easily.

"And you agreed." she said sitting up. "If you can behave there's plenty of room on this couch. It might not be very pretty but it actually sits well." He thought about it for a few minutes before sitting down behind her putting his legs on either side of her small frame. He bit back a groan when she leaned back against his chest bare chest. "Is this okay?" she asked looking up at him.

"It's fine." He said resting one hand on her waist the other he laid on the back of the couch. He was completely overwhelmed by her. Her sweet smell filled his senses while her round ass was pressed intimately against certain parts of him that were guaranteed to keep him very uncomfortable for the rest of the evening. Still he liked this; liked the way she was laying against him and how she felt in his arms. It was almost like she belonged there but as soon as the thought entered his mind he dismissed it.

"You sure?" she asked as she laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. A small smile curved over her lips when she heard his heart pounding just as hard as her own.

"Yeah." He said looking down at her.

"Goodnight Daryl." She said tucking her head under his chin.

"Night," Daryl said. He pulled the wool blanket up over her shoulders and tucked it tightly around her body not wanting her to get cold. It wasn't until he felt her body go limp with sleep that he was able to relax a little, he slipped his arms around her and stroked her back gently while she slept. He'd never really done this before, held a woman just for the sake of holding her. Course none of the other women he'd been with had been Clara. He wondered what it was that was changing and he sure as hell wasn't sure if liked it. Still as sleep started to take him he decided that he'd worry about it in the morning, in the morning he'd get her back to the farm and he'd stay the hell away from her.

* * *

Clara nuzzled Daryl's chest gently as she started to come to. Sometime in the night they had shifted in their sleep to where Daryl was lying beside of her and they were facing each other. She was using his shoulder for a pillow and her face was buried against his chest, while his hand was tangled in her long blonde curls and his other hand was running up her thigh pulling her firmly against him. She gasped when she felt how hard he was and tried to push him back knowing that when he woke up he'd probably freak out by what he was subconsciously doing. "Daryl." She said softly.

"Hmm?" he groaned sleepily as he leaned down and captured her mouth in a heated kiss.

Clara knew she should stop him after all, the last time he'd kissed her he fled and didn't speak to her for three days. Because of the circumstances that they'd spent the night together they didn't really have that kinda option. That and when he kissed her all common sense and logic seemed to flee from her mind. When his tongue slowly swept into her mouth her head spun she ran her hand up his chest and over the side of his neck sinking it in the back of his hair as she kissed him back her tongue tangling with his. Daryl knew that he needed to stop this was a bad idea but after spending the night with her tightly in his arms all of those good intentions that he'd had the night before seemed to go right out the window. He slid his hand up her side under the large shirt and cupped her firm breast his thumb teasing her nipple. He groaned against her lips at how soft she felt and the way her back arched pressing soft peak into his hand. He pulled back and looked down at her his pale blue eyes locking with her sapphire ones. "You're so soft Clara." He groaned before rolling into his back pulling her on top of him.

"Oh God Daryl stop!" she sobbed the movement had jarred her injured foot causing throbbing pain to shoot up her leg.

"Fuck! Oh god Clara…baby I'm sorry." He said shifting from under her and sliding onto the floor. "I'm so sorry." He rained kisses over her face feeling like a complete ass.

She sniffled a little as she took several deep breaths trying to distract herself from the pain, "It's okay Daryl." She said. "I forgot too until I moved. I think the bandages need loosened."

He nodded as he helped her set up and started to unwrap the ankle. It looked much worse than it had the night before but he'd expected that. "We'll get you dressed and then we'll rewrap it. Sounds like the rain's stopped so we can head back to the farm."

She nodded, "Good I'm sure mama's probably having a coronary."

After Daryl helped her dress and then dressed himself they had a meager breakfast and set out for what promised to be a difficult trip back to the farm. With Clara's ankle unstable he was forced to carry her the whole way which took longer. The logical thing would have been to leave her there and come back with a horse, but because she wasn't able to put weight on the ankle she wouldn't be able to defend herself if a walker or something worse happened to stumble upon where she was at. Plus he was afraid if he did show up back at the farm without her, Carol might have a breakdown thinking that she had lost both daughters. The sooner he got her back to the farm the sooner he could start to look again for Sophia and more importantly he could distance himself from Clara and put a stop to this fluke that kept happening between them.


	7. Chapter 7: Space

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. To Emberka-2012: Indeed, he is very naïve for thinking that he can go back to ignoring Clara. To Leyshla Gisel: Well…yeah naked time is always better than nonnaked time.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Space**

Everyone was congregating around the RV trying to figure out how they were going to handle searching for Daryl and Clara which pissed Shane off to no end. They were already wearing themselves thin trying to find Sophia, a little girl who was undoubtedly gone. It seemed like nobody wanted to step on Carol's toes, the poor woman was a stone's throw away from having a nervous breakdown and he felt bad for her. Not to mention there were more important things that they needed to worry about like getting to Ft. Benning and seeing what the hell was going on. They'd wasted too much time on the farm and everyone was starting to get way too comfortable. He ran his hand over his recently shaved head and walked over to where Rick was standing over the surveyor's map discussing a plan of action with Hershel. "Are you really going to go through with this?" he asked.

"Of course that's two of our people lost out there." Rick said giving Shane a questioning look. Ever since he'd met back up with Shane and his family he'd realized his best friend had changed so much. It was almost like he was angry that he was still alive. Even more, he was starting to wonder who if he even knew his friend at all. Gone was the easy going guy who he used to sit in his squad car with and bullshit, in his place resided a bitter angry man. "You really think we're going let them die?"

"Come on man, she's with Daryl. The man could track his way out of the ass end of a paper bag." Shane said. "They probably got caught up in the storm yesterday."

"If that was the case they would have been back hours ago." Rick said. "Something happened, for all we know they could be hurt or ran into some walkers."

"Again it's Daryl; walkers show up the man wouldn't hesitate to put them down." Shane said it didn't go beyond his notice that Hershel flinched when he mentioned putting down walkers.

"And if it was you out there would you want us to leave you?" Rick asked.

"I'd expect you to do what was necessary for the good of the group." Shane said.

"And now three of our members are out in those woods lost, we keep losing members there's not going to be a group to worry about." Rick argued.

Shane shook his head and walked off heading towards the house.

Hershel looked over at Rick, "You need to watch your man, he's dangerous."

"I'm beginning to see that." Rick sighed.

"Rick, we got some movement in the clearing." Dale called from the top of the RV, a pair of binoculars pressed to his eyes.

"Walker?" Rick asked.

"You remember out agreement I want to handle all walkers on this farm." Hershel said to Rick.

"I remember." He assured the older.

"Looks like we're not going to have to have that search after all," Dale said. "It's Daryl and Clara."

* * *

It was close to nightfall when Daryl and Clara finally made it out of the woods and into the clearing near Hershel's farm house. It hadn't been an easy trip and though they hadn't met up with any walkers, Daryl had carried Clara the entire why back. To be honest he was completely exhausted. The farm had never looked more beautiful than it did neither did the group of people rushing forward to meet them. "If I would have known there was gonna be a welcoming party I would have worn a dress." Clara joked.

"What happened?" Rick asked panting for breath.

"She fell hurt her ankle." Daryl said. "She needs Hershel to look at her I did what I could but I ain't no doctor or anything."

"Let's get her up to the house." Rick said.

They got Clara up to the house and into the spare bedroom so that Hershel was able to examine the ankle. Though he couldn't be completely sure without having it X-Rayed, he figured it was a minor fracture something that would heal in a few weeks. He set her up with some painkillers, a walking boot, and a cane before 'discharging' her. He'd given her the option of spending a few nights in the house but she declined. Her injury wasn't so bad that she needed constant care. Besides she didn't feel like it was fair to the rest of the group for her to stay in a nice bed in the house while the rest of her people were sleeping outside in tents and on the ground.

Clara was sitting on her 'bed' in her tent when her mother climbed inside. With the help of Maggie up in the house she was freshly bathed and dressed in her favorite flannel sleep pants and a thread bare tee-shirt. "Are you sure you won't stay in the RV at least for a day or two? I just worry about you being out here, what if you need help going getting to the bathroom."

"I'll be fine; really you don't need to fuss over me." Clara said.

"I wasn't worried; I want you to know that." Carol said, "I knew you were out there with Daryl and nothing could hurt you."

"I'm glad, I was afraid you would be." She said.

"Everyone treats me like I've lost my mind, except Dale and Hershel." Carol said.

"Don't worry about everyone." Clara said.

There was a soft tap-tap on the side of her tent, "Um….come in." she said.

Daryl walked in his arms crossed over his chest, "I didn't mean to interrupt I just wanted to check see how you were."

Clara smiled, "I'm okay thanks to you."

Carol didn't say anything, she just sit back and watched Daryl interact with her daughter. She'd never seen her like this around anyone else. Clara had always been a sweet girl and had never been shy the way Sophia had always been but around men she'd always been a little closed off distant. It was something she'd always blamed herself for. But Clara completely lit up around the surly redneck. As for Daryl she'd never seen him react to someone the way he did her daughter. Deep in her heart she knew that the Cherokee Rose he'd brought for her the day they'd officially started to look for Sophia had truly been meant for Clara. Daryl was in love with her daughter, whether he knew it or not. "I was going to head back to the RV." Carol said giving them a chance to be alone.

"No that's okay you don't have to leave." Daryl said quickly he knew being alone with Clara was a bad idea. He wasn't even sure why he'd come other than the fact that he wasn't able to stay away. He needed her to know that there couldn't be anything between them. He knew if he just started to ignore her that she'd only confront him about it.

"I'm wore out." Carol patted him on the arm before walking out of the tent.

Daryl sighed shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Well goodnight.' He said.

"Daryl wait, please." She said reaching out to take his hand.

He fought the urge to jerk it away and sighed looking back down at her, "what?"

"I just wanted to thank you again." She said softly she knew that something had changed. Daryl was pulling away from her and she had no idea what to do to stop it.

He nodded, "You need to get some rest."

"So that's it?" she asked confused.

"It was never anything more than it was." He said before walking out of the tent.

Clara set there for a few minutes taking it what he said. He was cold, very different than he had been during the time they were alone together. He'd closed himself to her and it hurt her to the very fiber of her being. She wrapped her arms around the extra pillow on her bed and sobbed hard.


	8. Chapter 8: A Chance

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: A Chance**

Everyone fell into an easy routine at the farm. While it was clear when they first arrived that Hershel hadn't been keen on the idea of the new comers getting too comfortable he too started to adjust to them being there. He came up with an easy arrangement Rick, as long as nobody carried guns on his farm with the exception Dale on watch or when they were looking for Sophia and he was allowed to handle walkers they were allowed to stay. They pulled their weight on the farm helping with the chores and whatever Hershel and his family needed. It was clear from the beginning that Shane wasn't exactly happy with this idea but so far hadn't done anything to jeopardize their position at the farm. Though nobody said it they'd all given up on ever finding Sophia, everyone except for Daryl and Clara that is. Even Carol had started to loose heart that they would ever find her again though she never spoke this out loud.

Clara was in the house helping Maggie clean up after lunch. Since arriving at the farm Clara had started to bond with the woman after all there was only about a year's difference in their age. On top of that with the big walking boot she wasn't stable enough to do anything much, going down to the river to help her mother and Lori out with the laundry was out of the question. "So what's going on with you and Daryl?" Maggie asked looking over at Clara who was drying the antique china and putting it away.

The delicate bowl Clara was drying almost slipped out of her fingers, "What makes you think there's something going on with me and Daryl?"

"Well," Maggie said watching Clara. "You're the only person I've seen that man talk to without growling and he watches you when you're around. Then there's the fact that after her brought you back from the woods he paced the hall floor waiting to make sure everything was okay."

"He's just a friend." Clara said even though she wasn't exactly sure if that was true either, Daryl didn't really make friends.

"Uh…huh," Maggie said skeptically as she leaned against the counter. "I think he thinks of you as more than a friend."

"He doesn't." Clara said putting another bowl up and sighing.

"Do you?" Maggie asked.

"Do I what?" Clara turned the woman her arms wrapping around her middle.

"Have more than friend feelings for Daryl?"

"Maybe I don't know. He's different when we're alone. When he kisses me…I swear the earth stops moving. I've never felt that before, I just don't know what to do."

"Sometimes a girl has to take things into her own hands. It's what I had to do with Glenn." Maggie shrugged.

Clara giggled a little, "You and Glenn?"

"He's a good guy." She said with a slight school girl grin, "I mean it's not like we have many options anymore and well I like how he makes me feel."

"So what do I do about Daryl?" she asked.

"What do you want to do about Daryl is the more important question, guy like that is bound to have baggage."

"Don't we all?" Clara shrugged thinking back to the scars that she'd saw on his body that night in the woods.

"It won't be easy; you'll probably have to get stubborn back with him."

"Nothing in my life has ever been that." Clara said.

Maggie nodded, "Glenn told me about your daddy."

"If you don't mind I'd rather not." Clara said softly. It wasn't that she didn't trust Maggie, to be honest besides Daryl she was probably the best friend she had. It was more along the lines that the less people who knew the less she had to worry about her mother finding out.

"That wasn't my way of trying to get you to talk, but if you need to you know."

Clara smiled, "Thank you, Maggie."

Maggie looked out the window. "Looks like Daryl's down at the stables probably just getting back from looking for your little sister."

* * *

Daryl had been wearing himself thin; between spending his time out looking for Sophia and getting very little sleep because her older sister kept plaguing his thoughts. Through the day he was able to push her to the back of his mind. He liked to lie to himself about her, telling himself that she wasn't in his thoughts at all. The truth was Clara was always there and at night when he was lying in his camp bed he could think of nothing but her. The way she'd felt in his arms, the warmth he'd felt waking up with her body pressed so intimately against his, the way she tasted. It was all enough to drive a saint into the sea. Even worse was that since she'd hurt her ankle and had been staying at the farm and do light work she'd been wearing these little sun dresses and her hair hanging around her shoulders in those wild curls. He'd been doing his best to stay away from her but since that night in the woods it had been getting harder and harder. Part of him wondered why he was torturing himself like this but the other part, the logical part knew that it was because he was piece of shit and she deserved better. Once he'd finished with the horse he headed up to the camp to check in with Carol, Rick, and Shane. The trail had started to go cold but he wasn't about to give up not while he had breath left in him. One way or another he'd find the little girl.

After she'd finished helping Maggie getting everything squared away Clara walked out of the house and headed towards the camp. She paused when she saw Daryl sitting outside of his tent cleaning his bow. Taking a deep breath she walked over to where the man was at. "What'ch ya want?" he asked not looking up from his work. He was hoping that if he didn't look at her he wouldn't see how amazing she looked in the pale yellow sundress with little orange flowers all over it, the way it hugged her curves, and how it made her hair look even more golden.

"Can we talk a minute?" she asked standing in front of him her arms crossing under her breasts.

"I'm busy what's this about?" he asked still not looking at her.

Clara was starting to get frustrated, she took few steps towards him and took his crossbow from him and walked away. She knew that he'd follow her and she wanted to get him out of earshot of Shane who was on guard duty and undoubtedly eaves dropping. "What the fuck is your problem woman?" he growled as he followed her he knew that it would be easy to overtake her but he didn't want to hurt her.

Finally when they were far enough from camp Clara turned to look at him. "My fucking problem is that I hate the way you treat me." She said looking up at him.

Daryl gave her a confused look, "The way I treat you? What the hell do you mean; I treat you like everyone else."

"Exactly." She said looking up at him. "I'm not those other people and you damn well know it. I'm different, you look at me different, and when you kiss me-"

Daryl sighed and raked his hand through his short light brown hair, "I made a mistake when I kissed you."

She frowned, her hand still clinching his crossbow, "You didn't feel-"

"I didn't feel shit okay?" he lied to her looking away.

"Look at me Daryl." She said softly and waited for him to look down at her, "You are a piss poor liar, something about me has you running scared."

He looked down at her the look in his eyes completely flat, "You gotta a lotta nerve lady. Ain't nothin' bout a skinny little thing like you gonna scare me." He hated the hurt he saw in her eyes but knew he had to keep going it was for the best. "What's the matter you don't like the truth? You think I want someone who's broken and used up by her daddy? I got my own shit to worry about." He jerked his crossbow out of her hand and started walking towards the camp leaving her standing there. He felt like a bastard for saying those things to her, hell he hadn't even really meant them. She'd just hit a nerve when she said he was running scared. It he let himself admit it, he'd agree that what she'd said was pretty right on. He'd never admit that though, Daryl Dixon didn't run scared from a woman.

Clara stood there for a second in complete shock before she followed him she knew he'd said those cruel things to push her away and she was sick of it, "Daryl Dixon don't you dare walk away from me!" she called after him. She knew that she'd never be able to chase him down, especially in the awkward walking boot but she wasn't done talking to him.

"Leave me the fuck be." He looked over his shoulder at her he sighed when she took a tumble, that walking boot wasn't cut out for the rough terrain. "Stupid bitch." He sighed before turning around and walking over to her. "That damn leg ain't gonna heal if you keep doing shit like this."

"I didn't do it on purpose." She said smoothing her skirt.

"Come on let's get you back to camp." He held his hand out. Clara looked at it for a few seconds before slipping her hand into it. Before he had a chance to pull her up she jerked him down on the ground beside of her. "Son of a bitch." He growled. "What the hell was that for?"

She gave him an innocent look, "You deserved it." She said.

"For trying to help you up?" he set up and dusted dried grass from his clothes.

"No for lying to me, being an utter asshole, and calling me a bitch. You don't believe that shit you just spat out you said it to shock me. It might work on those people up there but it sure as shit won't work on me. Why the hell you even bothered I have no idea. I know you better than you think I do." She said.

"You don't know shit." He said looking at her, but it was true. She did know him better than anyone else. Hell she probably knew him better than his own fucking brother did.

"I might not know who you were before all of this shit happened. I might not know how you got all those scars on your chest and your back and you'll never hear me asking about them." She noticed him getting an uncomfortable look when she mentioned them. What she said was true, she knew he'd tell her what had caused them when he was ready, on his own terms. "What I do know is this, you made sure that people you didn't even know had food in their bellies, I noticed plenty of times that you barely had any dinner so that Sophia and Carl could have a bit more. You would take night watch after hunting all day and you never complained no matter how tired you were. When Merle got left in Atlanta you when back and looked for him and we both know he never would have done that for you. You helped save us from walkers the night they attacked the camp and you made sure we made it out of the CDC." Her eyes started to tear up. "And you're the only one still looking for my little sister you haven't lost faith that she's out there like everyone else. When we were stuck in the woods during the storm you took care of me better than anyone else would have. You might not see it Daryl Dixon but you are a good man."

"What do you think is gonna happen here Clara?" he asked. "That we're gonna get married and have a house and 2.5 kids or some shit?"

"Not sure why anyone would have a half of a kid, maybe walkers got it?" she asked trying to make him smile.

"I'm serious." He said. "The world ain't like it used to be."

"And nobody is expecting it to be." She said. "I just don't understand why we can't be together we like each other isn't that enough?"

"Why though, why do you like me?" he asked he still couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked. "You have been beaten down so much that you don't even see yourself."

"I know who I am, I know that I'm not a good guy. You deserve someone like Rick or Glenn." He said it didn't escape Clara's knowledge that he didn't rope Shane into that category. "And what about your mother what would she say?"

"First of all I'm twenty she can't really say too much about it; secondly she thinks you're pretty great too." She said. "I don't want Rick or Glenn I want you."

Daryl frowned as he studied her; he wasn't use to this to having someone tell him how much self-worth he had. More often than not he was use to people calling him a tweeked out piece of shit not caring that he'd never touched the shit in his life. The fact that this beautiful, sweet woman wanted to be with him he didn't understand it. "I don't know Clara…I just don't fucking know." He said.

"I'm not asking for the ring and the kids and the picket fence I just…want a chance." She said.

He thought about it for a few minutes, "Can we take this slow?"

"We have all the time in the world." She said but even as the words escaped her lips they both knew the truth. They weren't promised tomorrows especially now.


	9. Chapter 9: Stay

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Stay**

Clara pulled a basket of freshly laundered clothing from the back of her mother's Jeep; Carol had just gotten back from the main house. After the first time they'd taken the laundry to the river Patricia had told them about the old ringer washer that was out in the shed. While it wasn't the front loading heavy duty Maytag that she was used to, Carol was still pleased not to be using a wash board. "I can't believe I slept in, especially on wash day." Lori said coming over to grab another basket from the back of the car.

"Don't worry about it," Carol said as she started to hang the damp clothes on the clothes line. "You must have needed the rest. We can manage."

"You have been looking a little under the weather. Are you sure you're not coming down with something?" Clara asked as she pulled a pair of jeans from the basket and shook them out before hanging them.

"I'm fine." Lori assured her, but the tone of her voice said she was anything but fine. "How about you, shouldn't you still be wearing that boot?" she asked Clara who'd exchanged her walking boot for a pair of chocolate colored cowboy boots.

"Hershel said it was a healing pretty well and that as long as I keep it wrapped I'll be fine." Clara assured her. "You all need the help and I want to get back out there to look for Sophia as soon as I can."

"Don't worry, Daryl stays on her case about over doing it." Carol smiled as she patted her daughters' arm.

Lori's mouth dropped open, "Daryl Dixon…Daryl Dixon?"

"Daryl Dixon, Daryl Dixon." Clara confirmed then shrugged, "We're friends." She didn't want to put a label on something and freak Daryl out. He'd always kind of been a private person, besides right now she wasn't even sure herself what you would call what was going on between them.

"It's just…a surprise is all." Lori said.

"You know what a bigger surprise is, Maggie and Glenn." Clara changed the subject.

"Our Glenn and the farmer's daughter?" Lori laughed.

Clara smiled too, "Our little Glenn is all grown up now."

"I've been so busy with Carl that I hadn't even really taken time to keep up with what's going on with everyone." Lori said bending over and pulling a shirt from the basket.

"You know I have an idea I wanted to run past you." Carol said to Lori once more changing the subject.

"What's that?" Lori asked.

"Well Hershel and his family have been so good to us. I was just thinking that maybe we should make them dinner for a change. Honestly, I miss cooking in a kitchen and I always liked to make big meals." Carol said. "I just thought it would be a good way to thank them is all."

"That's a wonderful idea." Lori said she knew Carol was having a hard time and was doing anything to keep her mind off of her missing daughter. What she was going through with Carl was scary enough; she couldn't imagine what it would be like if he was out there lost and not knowing if he was dead or worse.

"Do you mind talking to them?" Carol asked.

"Why don't you ask him Mama?" Clara asked. "I mean you've spent a lot of time with him."

Carol blushed a little, "Well I was just thinking it would sound better coming from Lori. She's Rick's wife and all. Hershel usually deals with him when it comes to things concerning the group and all."

"I'll talk to him, I have to go up and check on Carl anyway." Lori assured the woman.

Once they were done hanging the laundry Lori headed up to the main house and Clara followed her mother into the RV. Carol pulled out a tattered three ring binder from her suitcase. Clara smiled as soon as she saw it; it had been a fixture of her childhood. It carried all of Carol's favorite recipes, things that she'd gotten off of TV or magazines some of them had been passed down through Carol's family. In a lot of ways it more like her mother's journal than a cookbook, and the fact that her mother had brought it with her to the apocalypse made her smile. "You know they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Clara said sitting down beside of her mother.

"I'm not trying to win Hershel's heart," Carol dismissed her daughter as she flipped through the book. "He's just a friend, someone I can talk to about Sophia and Ed."

"Nobody would judge you if you were trying. You deserve some happiness after everything you've been through." Clara said.

Carol over at her daughter, "Really sweetheart he's just a friend. We have a lot in common in our beliefs and loosing people. We think of this place as having been untouched by everything but they've had their losses too. Hershel's wife and stepson came down with it."

"Yeah, Maggie told me." Clara said then look at the cook book, "You should do that pineapple brown sugar ham that you usually do at Thanksgiving."

Carol smiled at her daughter, "I was thinking just that."

* * *

The morning slowly turned into afternoon and before she knew it Clara was in the large kitchen of the house helping Maggie cut up vegetables for a salad while Patricia, Carol, and Lori were putting together dinner and desert. It reminded her of Christmas this past year when all of her family had gotten together to celebrate the holiday.

_Clara was nervous as she pulled up in front of her house, she had been nervous about coming home for the holiday. She was still recovering from her trip home for Thanksgiving and was seriously considering taking her roommate, Sadie; up on her offer to go home with her for their midterm break. In fact she'd been in the process of packing her bags when she got a phone call from Sophia who was in tears begging her to come home. Unable to tell her little sister no she headed home with dread in her stomach which had been forgotten the moment she arrived back home. "I can't believe how grown up you've become." Granny Caroline, her mother's mother, said as she hugged her so tight she thought she was going to have a broken rib. "Let me look at you." She pulled back and looked at her granddaughter. "Thank God you took after our side of the family. Those Peletiers God love them have that…squished face look." _

_Clara bit back a laugh, "That's not very nice Granny."_

"_It's the truth and don't you forget it. Don't worry your daddy ain't here." She said._ "_He and your Grandpa Joe went down to the market to pick up some things. Needed to get them out of the house you know how they hover."_

"_You'd think that after all these years they'd learn that there is no such thing as catfish caviar." Clara said with a laugh._

"_Mama let her in the door already." Carol said a big smile on her face when she saw her oldest daughter suitcase in hand. "Sophia, Clara's home." She called upstairs. _

_There was a clamor of feet on the stairs sounding more like a heard of stampeding elephants than a petite eleven year old girl. "CLARA!" _

_Clara barley had a chance to react before she was attacked by flailing arms and legs. "I'm happy to see you too." She laughed hugging her sister. _

_As she was with her mother, Aunt Karen, Granny, and little sister in the kitchen she realized how happy she was to be home, that she'd almost given all this up because of one asshole. "So Clara have you found yourself a boyfriend yet?" Aunt Karen asked. _

_Clara pushed one of the unruly curls that had come from her messy bun from her face, boys had always been a sensitive subject with her. "Um…no not really." _

"_Clara's more focused on studying; she made the Dean's List this semester." Carol said proudly. _

"_That's good, remember boys are icky and have cooties." Karen teased. _

_Clara laughed as she rolled out the sugar cookie batter, "I will keep that in mind." _

"_She doesn't have to worry about catching a husband anytime soon." Carol said a dark look crossing her face. "I'd rather her wait for the one who's going to treat her right than just to settle for any old thing that comes along." _

"_I didn't mean to upset you Carol." Karen said. They'd known for years that Ed Peletier was a son of a bitch but they went on pretending otherwise for Carol's sake. She didn't want her family to know what she put up with out of her husband, she was embarrassed by it. To be honest the only thing that they really knew was that he was controlling they didn't know the full story. _

"_There's no sense in fighting, it's Christmas." Caroline said trying to defuse the tension. _

_Late that night after everyone had gone back home Clara remembered why she hadn't wanted to come home for Christmas. She'd retreated her bedroom and was in the middle of the latest Margret George historical novel or at least attempting to be. Even through the shut door of her bedroom she could hear her father screaming at her mother downstairs and the loud sound of opened hand against bare flesh. For a few seconds it got quiet and when she heard the soft tap-tap on her door she tensed afraid of what was to come. Then she remembered two things: Ed never knocked before coming into her room and he never came unless it was the wee hours of the night. The door pushed opened she saw Sophia standing there clutching a tattered soft body rag doll in her hand. "Can I sleep with you?" she asked softly. _

_Clara nodded and pulled the blankets back so Sophia could join her. "Hey everything's okay." She said when she realized her baby sister was trembling. _

"_I hate when he's like this." Sophia said looking up at her older sister. "I hate him he's mean. Do you think Jesus will make him go away?"_

_Clara didn't have the heart to tell her that she didn't believe in Jesus, or the Marietta City Police either, she'd called them once before when she thought her dad was going to kill her mom. "I hope so." Was all she could say._

"_Sometimes when mama is at work he comes into my room." Sophia said. _

_Clara stiffened. "What does he do?" she asked a chill running down her spine._

"_Nothing…he just looks at me. He told me not to tell anyone, you can't tell mama." Sophia said with fear in her voice._

"_I promise I won't tell. But you did right telling me." Clara said holding her sister tightly as she plotted all the ways she was going to make her father pay._

Clara was snapped from her memories when two fingers snapped in front of her face, "You still with us Clara?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah sorry, I spaced." Clara blushed a little.

Before anyone said anything else there was a shrill screaming that came from the camp, "WALKER!" It was closely followed by a gun shot. Everyone ran from the house, even Clara who had sharp pains shoot up her leg even as she did.

"What's goin' on out here?" Hershel called when he saw Shane, Rick, and Glenn half dragging half carrying an unconscious Daryl up towards the house.

"Oh my God!" Clara gasped not far from tears when she saw him. "Is he-"

"Don't worry he's just unconscious, the bullet just grazed him." Rick assured her.

"Let's get him upstairs treat those wounds." Hershel said.

Andrea's hands were shaking when she saw everyone standing outside. "I shot Daryl." She said.

"Come on." Carol said wrapping her arm around Andrea and helping her over to the porch.

Clara didn't hear the rest of the conversation as she went back into the house. "He's gonna be fine." Maggie assured her. "The bullet only grazed him and he's more beat up than anything else. You are more than welcome to pace the floor though."

"I'll take you up on that." Clara said her arms wrapped around her middle.

It seemed like forever before Clara was able to go into see Daryl. When she saw how beat up she was she almost broken down into tears. "Hey now don't do that." Daryl said when he saw her.

"You could have gotten yourself killed out there." She set down on the edge of the bed side of him and wiped her tears.

"Dixons are tough bastards." He said cupping her cheek and pulling her into a soft kiss. He didn't want to tell her how close of a call it had really been. This was all so new to him, having someone at home that cared if he made it back alive. He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "I found Sophia's doll she's close I can feel it. A few more days and we'll have her located."

"I know…Shane and Rick are going out tomorrow to see if they can find her near where you found her doll. Mama was really starting to loose heart she never said anything but I could tell." Clara said then kissed him again, "thank you so much."

Daryl felt a little uncomfortable, "It weren't nothin' special."

"It was something to me." She said standing up, "You should rest but I'll be back later, dinner should be almost ready and I'll bring you some up."

"Wait," Daryl caught her hand before she walked away. He paused for a few second, "I don't mind you stayin'…I like you bein' here."

Clara bit back smile as she set back down. "Okay."


	10. Chapter 10: Distraction

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. To GatorGirl99: Glad you like the character development, I always felt the same way when I was reading your work the characters are relatable and they're driven by so much raw emotion. Clara is really an interesting character and I'm not just saying that because she lives in my head either. There's a lot more to her story that hasn't been revealed yet. To Leyshla Gisel: The Carol/Hershel thing made me do a double take too and it came from my own head. I'm not exactly sure where it's going or if it will even go anywhere I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I've never planned out where my stories are going. There are ideas that I have and they may or may not come to pass. I write to see what's going to happen next. To JavaNut: Welcome, and I'm happy to feed your addiction.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Distraction**

"Ain't you supposed to be in bed still?" Clara asked when Daryl walked over to where she sitting. It had only been a day and a half since he made it out of the woods and Andrea accidentally shot him. Of course he'd never been one to lie about in bed all day. Not even that time, before the world went to shit, when he was doing a remodel on someone's home and was pushed off of the roof. Or depending if you asked Merle what happened, he fell.

"Ain't you suppose to still be wearing that walking boot?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Touché." She smiled, "So what has you out of bed?"

"Feelin' restless. I don't like being stuck at the fort while everyone else is out doin' my job." He said he hated more than anything being stuck here on the farm while Sophia was still out there. He wasn't sure when it had happened. When finding Sophia had become his chance to prove himself to Clara and everyone else that he wasn't a piece of shit redneck that he was something more. "Thought that maybe you might want to distract me."

Clara smiled, "And how would I do that?"

"Come on I got something to show you." He held his hand out to her.

"Okay." She said standing up and taking his hand. "We're not going too far are we?"

"Nah." He said he might have been feeling to being out of bed but he still had a lot of pain from his fall and being impaled by his own crossbow.

Daryl stopped by his tent and grabbed his crossbow before taking her hand had as he leading her past the house and into the woods. They weren't going very far but he still had no intention of being caught away from camp without protection. It wasn't long before they reached a small swimming hole. There was a large willow tree planted beside of it and on one of the branches was an old swing. "This is beautiful." Clara said.

"I caught Jimmy and Beth neckin' up here a few days ago." He said the looks on the teenagers' faces had been priceless. Poor Jimmy thought for sure that Daryl would nark him out to Hershel who would have the kid's balls for messing with his baby girl.

"So you thought you'd bring me here?" she teased.

"No." he said quickly his face flushing a little. Even as he told her no he'd known the truth. Somewhere deep down he had every intention of necking with her here. "I just thought it was a nice place you know to be alone."

"I was teasing Daryl." She said looking up at him.

"Still not sure why you're here." He said honestly as he pushed her hair from her face tucking it behind her ear.

"I thought that was pretty clear." She said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Clear as mud." He said before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers as he circled her waist with his arms holding her against him as much as he dared. She closed her eyes as she opened her mouth teasing his lips with the tip of her tongue causing him to groan. Needing to taste more of her sweetness Daryl cupped her chin in his hand tipping her head back and sweeping his tongue slowly into her mouth. She sighed softly against his lips as she stood up on her tip toes to get closer to him accidently coming into contact with his bandaged side. "Easy girl." He breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against hers.

Once she was sure that he was okay Clara busted out laughing, "We are quiet the pair aren't we?"

He gave her a confused look, "Not sure what you mean."

"Well the morning on the couch after the storm it was my ankle that ruined things." She said.

Daryl chuckled a little, "I guess we are, but like I said necking isn't the reason I brought you up here." He said.

"Then why did you?"

He wrapped his arm around her and led her over to the edge of the water where some brush was growing. Tangled among them were Cherokee Roses. "I've never seen so many of these growin' all over like this." He said picking one and tucking it behind Clara's ear before cupping her cheek. "They make me think of you."

She smiled and pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand. "You're sweet."

"You're full of shit." He said.

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not true." She said. "So when are you going to teach me to shoot that thing?" she asked gesturing to his crossbow.

Daryl was a little surprised, "You want to learn to shoot?"

"Well it doesn't seem like this is thing is going to end any time soon. I want to be able to defend myself if I need to. I don't like feeling defenseless." She explained.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah sure I'll teach you." He knew that there was more to what she was saying, about feeling defenseless. It went further than just wanting to defend herself against mindless walkers. Even though Ed was no longer with them it didn't mean that she didn't felt any safer. There were still times that he something would remind him of that helpless feeling that he had felt as a little boy when his father beat the hell out of him. His father had been dead for almost fifteen years. "I just you know…want you to know that I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." He said a little awkwardly.

Clara smiled at him. "That's good to know, but you can't be there all the time."

"You're still safe." He promised.

* * *

AN: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter it kinda did it's own thing.


	11. Chapter 11: A Time to Mourn

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I have really been dreading writing this chapter, so I hope that I do it justice. To Leyshla Gisel: Could you imagine their faces to have Daryl of all people catch them too? It would be priceless. To JavaNut: I see her as really hating feeling weak and until this point she's really never had the option to take that into her own hands. To Zaii: I'm glad you like the pairing at first I was a little nervous, I didn't want them to be too much alike but I think they've balanced out really well. To Jerseygirl9766: I'm glad you found my story as well and are enjoying I promise to do better about the spelling and punctuation in the future.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: A Time to Mourn**

Everyone was sitting around the campfire having a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, and skillet cornbread. While they usually shared dinner up in the house breakfast was another matter, Hershel's family usually raised a lot earlier than the rest of them having to go out and tend the animals and crops. After taking care of their own camp chores they usually sought them out to see what they could do to help. Glenn walked up to where everyone was at, it was clear by the way he shifted his weight from one foot to another that he had something on his mind. "Well…spit it out." Daryl said a little annoyed.

"Thereswalkersinthebarn." He said quickly.

The plat Clara had been holding slipped from her hands spilling her breakfast in the dirt not that she would be able to eat after that news. "What?"

Glenn took a deep breath, "There's walkers in the barn." He said again this time slower.

Shane didn't say anything he picked his rifle up and headed towards the barn with everyone at his heels. As soon as the walkers smelled the fresh meat outside, they started pressing against the doors trying to get out. "I can't believe that we were sleeping this close to things that want to kills us." Shane said clearly pissed off. "We should have left for Ft. Benning as soon as Carl was better."

"My sister is still out there you son of a bitch." Clara snapped, she'd never really cared much for Shane and more often than not the past few weeks her good opinion, no matter how small it might have been, had really started to dwindle.

"And you're a fucking idiot if you think that little girl is still alive." Shane said turning to the girl.

"Hey don't you be talking to her like that." Daryl said hurt or not he'd been brewing for a reason to take the asshole down a notch and getting in Clara's face was a sure fire way to evoke the wrath of Daryl.

"We can't leave we have too much invested here." Rick said the truth was that wasn't the only reason he didn't want to leave, "I'll talk to Hershel."

"Time for talking is done." Shane said. "We have to clear that barn."

"I don't know how Hershel is going to handle that, he sees those people in there as sick. That's his family, his wife, his step-son, and his friends." Dale said.

"You knew about this and didn't say anything?" Shane asked turning on the elderly man.

"Glenn told me yesterday, I'd planned to tell you this morning but he wanted to be the one to do it." Dale said not backing down.

"This is un-fucking-believable," Shane said then turned on Rick, "If you didn't have us spread so thin looking for a little girl-"

Daryl cut him off, "We have a fucking trail, and I found her goddamn doll two days ago. Am I the only one takin' this seriously?"

"A trail and a doll nothing but shadows, when a child goes missing you have 72 hours to find them or you're looking for a body." Shane said.

"Fuck you." Daryl said throwing up his hands and heading towards the stables.

Clara knew exactly what he was doing. He was in no condition to head back out to look for her sister, and he was going to get himself killed. "Daryl wait." She called after him.

"I ain't got time for this." He said turning to face her. "Go back up to the camp stay away from the barn and Shane. He's got that crazy look goin' in his eyes I don't like it. I'll be back before dark."

"No." she said looking up at him giving him a look just as stubborn as his own.

"Clara please." He sighed.

"No, you're going to get yourself killed and that might not bother you but it does me." She said. "I need your broody redneck ass alive."

He raked his hand through his hair and looked down at her, "I just can't sit around here doin' nothin', I won't."

"And I won't let you go." She said stubbornly.

"Exactly how do you plan to stop me?" he asked.

"I really don't want to do this." She said looking up at him.

"Do what?" he asked. She poked him in the side, causing him to wince in pain, "Fuck woman."

"I didn't want to use force, you go out there and you'll end up being walker bait." She said.

"Exactly how you are you going to distract me?" he asked.

"I was thinking you could teach me to shoot that crossbow." She said.

He nodded, "Fine, go get it before I change my mind."

"Thought you would see things my way." She said brushing her lips over his before heading to his tent.

Daryl went to the stable to find a bale of hay to sit up a target on, "Bout time woman." He said when he heard footsteps he was surprised when he looked up to see Carol standing there.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." Carol said.

He sighed; he'd been expecting this talk for a long time. "Look I know what you're gonna say, to leave your daughter the hell alone or some shit like that. I tried like hell to stay away from her but she's stubborn as hell and she knows her own mind. I'm gonna do right by her, you don't gotta worry none."

Carol held her hand up to stop him, "Daryl that's not what I was going to say at all, I mean all of that is well and good but Clara she's always known what she wanted. She never really showed an interest in boys much until she met you, not that you're a boy. I just, she's lost so much lately, her father's death, and Sophia's missing. We don't know if the rest of our family made it out of Marietta I just think it would be hard on her to loose someone else."

"Look I don't think she really grieved none when that some bitch died." Daryl said he was trying really had not to lose his temper with Carol. "I know that it's been a few days since I've been out to look for Sophia-"

"I didn't mean to upset you Daryl; I just meant that you're not in any condition to go out there." Carol said.

"If you'd have minded Sophia the way you mind everyone else's business we would be out havin' to search for her." Daryl said wince when he bent over to pick up the bale of hay.

Carol blinked back tears she knew what he was saying was true, "All I mean is that we don't even know if she's still out there." She took a deep breath, "I don't know that she's still out there and you and Clara have been hurt trying to find her and Shane's right. We're just chasing shadows."

"She's your fucking daughter. What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Daryl asked walking away from her before he really lost his temper.

Clara met back up with Daryl outside of the stable; he'd managed to snag one of Hershel's scarecrows and was sitting it up in front of the bale of hay trying to give Clara a broad target. "That's really menacing looking." She laughed.

"Shit, that thing is scarier than half those walkers out there." He said as he finished sitting it up.

"No all of those walkers are scary as hell." She said. "Not to mention that smell."

Daryl nodded, "It is pretty bad what would you call that?"

"It's like rotting infected flesh mixed with wet garbage on a hot summer day." Clara said, "With as many walkers are in the barn I'm surprised we didn't notice it before."

"Well we didn't really go down there." Daryl shrugged, "What the hell could Hershel be thinkin'."

"That he lost his family and wanted to hold on to some kinda hope." She shrugged. "I mean if you think about it they're stuck here they didn't see the things we did."

"I guess." Daryl said, "You ready to do this?"

"Yeah." She said picking the crossbow up. "It's heavy."

"You'll get use to the weight." He said coming behind her and squaring her shoulders showing her how to stand. "When we get a chance we'll try to find you somethin' lighter."

"How do I know when to pull the trigger?" she asked looking over her shoulder at him.

Daryl helped her hold the bow straight and covered her hand that held the trigger, "You'll just know." He said looking down at her as he helped her line up the shot, "Whenever you're ready."

Clara took a deep breath; it was hard to concentrate on anything but him with him so close to her. She looked at the target again and pulled the trigger. The bolt shot from the bow and hit the scarecrow in the shoulder. "Oops." She said.

Daryl laughed, "That wasn't that bad at least you didn't hit the stable…or Shane."

"I wish." Clara smirked causing him to laugh more.

"Try again." He said showing her how to load it.

Over the next few hours Daryl worked with her helping her improve her aim, she was hitting the scarecrow in the head nearly every time. Of course a stationary target was different than a moving one. "Come on lets go see if Rick and Shane figured anything out with Hershel." Daryl said taking the crossbow and slinging it over his shoulder, when he saw Shane and Dale come out of the woods with the bag of guns.

"Alright." She said following him to the house. She hadn't wanted to admit it but the weight of the bow had started to wear her arms out and was glad for the excuse to rest.

"So what's goin' on?" Daryl asked and was surprised when Shane thrust a gun in his hands.

"You gonna do what it takes to protect yours?" Shane asked the tone of his voice sounding more like a dictator giving orders than a small town cop.

"I didn't think that you all were supposed to be packing." Clara said then looked to Daryl, "I don't like this." To be honest Daryl didn't like it much either but when an unhinged cop hands you a gun and tells you that you need to protect yours. You take the gun because nine out of ten you're going to have to protect yours against the unhinged cop.

"That was before when we thought this place was safe now we know it ain't." Shane said offering her a handgun which she refused. "You got yours?" he asked Andrea

"Yeah but what's going on?" she asked.

"What about you Glenn? You with us?" Shane handed Glenn a gun but the look on his face saying he done under pure duress.

"Can you shoot?" Shane asked Maggie.

"Can you stop?" Maggie asked her arms crossed under her breasts, "If you do this, hand out these guns my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay Shane," Carl said coming off of the porch the little boy was obviously scared.

"What is all this?" Lori asked coming outside.

"Look we ain't goin' anywhere. Hershel he's just going to have to understand. Well he's going to have to." Shane said then walked over to Carl and kneeling down in front of him. "We gotta find Sophia now am I right? I want you to take this." He held out the gun to the little boy. "You take it and you keep your mother safe you do whatever it takes. You know how, take the gun and do it-"

Lori pushed Carl behind her before he had a chance to take the gun, "Rick said no guns." She snarled at Shane, "This is not your call; this is not your decision to make."

"Oh shit." T-Dog said. They all turned to see Hershel, Rick, and Jimmy come out of the woods with walkers on leads.

"What is that?" Shane stood up and growled before taking off in a dead run towards the barn. Everyone took off after him. Nobody was sure what the man was going to do it seemed like more and more often he was becoming unhinged. "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled.

"Shane just back off." Rick yelled at his best friend.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Shane circled around Hershel and Rick pointing at the walkers as if trying to make some sort of point. "You see what they're holding on to?"

"I see *who* I'm holding onto." Hershel said.

"No man you don't." Shane said.

"Shane just let it go." Rick said again. "Let us do this and then we can talk."

"What do you want to talk about Rick?" Shane asked. "These things ain't sick, they're not people, they're dead. You ain't gotta feel nothin' for them because all they do is kill. These things right here they're the things who killed Amy, they killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us if we don't do somethin' about it."

"Shane stop!" Rick yelled.

"Hey Hershel man let me ask you somethin'." He stopped and pulled his side arm out and aimed it at the walker Hershel had on lead. "Could a living breathing person walk away from this?" he asked shooting her three times in the chest. "That's three rounds to the chest, someone who's alive could they just take that? Why is it still comin'?" He aimed and shot the walker again twice more. "That's it's heart it's lungs, why is it still comin'?" He asked shooting again.

"Shane enough!" Rick yelled he was dying to let the lead held down so he could get the man under control but he wouldn't risk his people like that.

"Yeah you're right that is enough." He walked up to the walker and shot her in the head. The look on Hershel's face when she dropped to the ground was one of complete devastation. Nobody could believe how far Shane had gone to prove a point and to try to demand leadership. "Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's already gone," He said walking towards the barn Clara could hear the devastate sigh coming from her mother but couldn't bring herself to look away from the spectacle before her, "Enough livin' next to a barn full of things tryin' to kill us! Enough! Rick it ain't like it was before." He pleaded to his best friend. "Now if you all want to live if you want to survive you have to fight for it! I'm talkin' about fightin' right here right now!" Before anyone could stop him he ran towards the barn and started breaking down the barricades.

Rick tried to get someone to take the lead he was holding, "No Shane don't do this! Don't do this brother!" Nobody tried to stop Shane, maybe he was doing what needed to be done but nobody knew how far gone he was. Hershel had completely broken down, was on his knees watching in horror Maggie ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him.

"Shane don't do this please!" Glenn cried. As soon as the barricades were down walkers started to pour from the barn. Without any other choice those who were carrying guns did what they had to.

Clara watched in horror as Shane sadistically slaughtered one walker after another. While it was better to put them out of their misery she was sure that there would have been a better way to do it than this. To kill them in front of Hershel, Maggie, Patricia, Beth, and Jimmy was cruel and she hated Shane for it. She knew that Glenn's loyalties were torn he didn't want to do anything to hurt Maggie but he needed to what was necessary to protect her and her family it wasn't until she gave him an nod that he joined the rest of them trying to take them down as quickly as possible. Rick on the other hand was tied in place he wasn't able to let go of the walker he was holding for fear it would hurt one of their people. Finally Shane turned and shot the walker in the head freeing Rick who looked ready to kill the man. He turned and ordered Lori to keep Carl, who was in hysteric tears down. After what seemed like an eternity they finally stopped coming out of the barn. Then like something out of a horror movie they heard the soft growl of a walker, Sophia clumsily stumbled out of the barn towards them. "SOPHIA!" Clara screamed.

Daryl knew that this was going to be bad, without thinking he dropped the gun he'd been holding and wrapped his arms around Clara. He tangled his hand in her long mess of curls and held her face against his chest as they stumbled to the ground. "Don't look." He said his own voice wet with tears. When he'd told Clara that he'd felt her sister was close this was not what he'd meant. The injustice of it, it wasn't fucking fair.

Carol started to run towards the little undead girl, Dale who'd been watching everything from the side quickly grabbed her and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming hysterically. Rick looked at Shane who was equally shocked. Knowing what he had to do he walked up to the little girl and raised his revolver, after a second he squeezed the trigger. The shot seemed defining nobody had expected to see that little girl come out of the barn. While they might at some point given up hope in the end they'd all only wanted to see one thing. Sophia reunited, alive with her mother and sister.

Dale managed to get Carol to the RV, Daryl was in the process of doing the same with Clara when she broke free. "You bastard! You sick bastard!" she screamed at Shane as she approached him her hands clinched into painful fists.

"Now Clara I didn't know she was in there I swear I never would have-" He rambled.

"You destroyed my mother and Hershel! Do you not care for anyone but your own goddamn self?" she screamed at him before raring her arm back and punching him hard in the nose.


	12. Chapter 12: Sorrow

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. Just wanted to say that when I watched that episode and even the one after it I always thought someone needed to knock the shit out of Shane.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Sorrow**

As soon as Clara's fist connected with Shane's nose pain shot up her arm and bright red exploded from Shane's nose. "Son of a bitch!" Shane yelled his hand covering his nose. He reacted out of pure instinct raising his hand to slap Clara.

Daryl pushed her behind him, "You touch her and I will slit you from navel to chin." He said his voice even but the look in his eyes completely serious, nobody there doubted that he would do it.

Andrea walked over to Shane and rested her hand on his arm, "Let's get you cleaned up." Shane jerked away from her and headed towards the farm where Hershel was taking his family. He was screaming at them accusing them of knowing that Sophia was in the barn this whole time. Rick followed trying to calm the irate man down.

Daryl wrapped his arm around Clara and lead her away, he'd never done the whole comforting thing before and really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He hated her tears, more than that he hated the heart wrenching sobs that he'd heard come from Clara before. He'd wanted so badly to keep her from this kind of pain. He blamed himself, if he'd been out there more he could have found her. He didn't want to succumb to the truth that Sophia had probably died the day that she'd disappeared. "Let's get you to the RV, your mama needs you." He said softly as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

Clara nodded, "I just can't believe she's gone." She said. It didn't matter that she'd been missing for a few weeks. Seeing her again, seeing her like that, as one of them it was like losing her all over again. Deep in her heart she knew the truth though, Sophia wasn't cut out for this world, she was too sweet and shy.

When Dale saw Daryl and Clara walking toward the RV he stepped out, "I don't know what to do for her." He said he was at a complete loss.

"I'll try." Clara said climbing into the RV and walking to the back where Carol was laying on the bed. Clara slipped her boots off and lay down beside of her mother and wrapped her arms tightly around her. It was only then that she allowed the grief to overtake her.

* * *

A while later Daryl climbed into the RV, he stood in the kitchen for a few minutes before walking on into the back. "I'll be right back Mama." Clara kissed her mother's cheek before walking out to where Daryl was.

When Daryl saw her face puffy, her eyes red from tears he felt like he was being stabbed in the heart. "How is she?"

Clara shrugged, "She's calmed down some. You don't happen to have any sedatives in that bag of tricks of yours do you?" she asked as her arms crossed over her middle.

He shook his head, "I'll find you somethin'." He promised. "They're preparin' to have a ceremony for our dead."

"Thank you." She said. Daryl nodded, raking his hand through his hair not sure what to do before walking out.

Clara walked back to where her mother was at she pulled one of the boxes from under the bed and found Sophia's favorite sundress. She ran her fingertips over the soft cotton before standing up. "What are you doing?" Carol asked.

"They're getting ready to bury Sophia, Annette, and Shawn." Clara said looking up at her mother, "I was going to get Sophia ready."

"That's not Sophia!" Carol snapped at her daughter jerking the dress from her hands. "Sophia has been dead for weeks that thing out there is not my daughter!"

Clara took the dress back from her mother her voice was shaking with grief and anger, "That it my sister out there." She said standing up, "And I'm going to get her ready to be buried. It might be easier for you to deal with this by telling yourself that it's not her but it's not for me. You're not the only one who misses her mama."

Clara filled a bowl up with soapy water and went out to the barn where everyone was clearing away the bodies. She walked up to Andrea who'd covered Sophia with a blanket. "Let me." She said softly.

"Where's your mother?" Andrea asked ask Clara kneeled down beside of Sophia.

"She won't be coming she's grieving." Clara said as she started to wash the dirt and grime from her sister's body. She was careful not to do any more damage to the delicate skin. "This probably seems silly." She wiped the tears from her eyes on the back of her hand. "Sophia, she never was one to get dirty much. She would hate to see herself like this."

Andrea kneeled down beside of the younger woman to help her. "I don't think it's silly." She said. "Nobody wanted things to end this way. Shane thinks that Hershel knew that she was in the barn."

"I don't, Hershel's a good man. He wouldn't have let us keep looking; he was just as worried as we were." Clara said as he pulled the old clothes from her sister's body and dressed her in the bright colored dress. "For all we know she could have found the barn and thought it was a safe place to hide."

"I thought that too." Andrea said.

"It might sound cruel but I think she's better off." Clara said as she smoothed her sister's hair trying not to touch the spot where the bullet had gone into her head. "She wasn't meant for this world but even though I think that I can't imagine a world without her in it. She was so smart and good she didn't deserve this."

"Honey nobody deserves this death." Andrea hugged her tightly. "When Amy…I didn't think I would ever get over it. There are still times when I see a sunset that I knew she would have liked or something happens and I want to tell her about it. We never were that close before all this happened it was cruel for her to die the way she did."

Clara nodded, "Her and Sophia can look out for each other now." She said as she carefully wrapped her little sister in the wool barn blanket.

"It will get easier." Andrea promised her.

Clara nodded and then said, "I'm sorry I messed up Shane's face." She tried to lighten the mood. Truth was she wasn't sorry but it seemed like the right thing to say. She knew that Shane and Andrea had something going on.

"Well…he deserved it." Andrea said with a laugh. She felt like the barn needed to be cleared and that they weren't safe living near them. She didn't agree with his methods for clearing it.

* * *

They were all standing around the tree where Annette, Shawn, and Sophia were being laid to rest. Maggie had managed to convince Hershel and Beth to come out of the house for it even though they were still glowering at Shane who'd been told by Hershel to get the hell off of his property. They needed this closure, this time to grieve. Everyone was there except for Carol who refused; Daryl frowned when he saw Carol walking towards the woods. "I'll be back." He whispered to Clara who'd been standing beside of him. "Carol wait." He called to the older woman as he ran to catch up with her.

"Go back to the funeral, Clara needs you there." Carol kept walking.

"She needs you there too, you need be there." Daryl said. He couldn't wrap his mind around why this woman wouldn't go to her own daughter's funeral. "That's your little girl."

She spun around her eyes alive with hate, anger, and grief, "That thing is not my little girl, my little girl is dead. She's been dead for a long time and if it wasn't for you and Clara and your constant insistence that we were going to find her and she was going to be fine I would have been able to grieve long along!"

"What the hell is your goddamn problem?" Daryl snapped he'd had enough of this woman and her act of innocence, "If you would have been watchin' Sophia instead of playin' dress up she wouldn't have ran off. Hell if you would have be half the mother you should have been and protected your daughters from their fuckin' bastard father then Sophia wouldn't have been so fearful. She would have known that we wouldn't have let those walkers get her and she wouldn't have run away."

"What are you talking about what does Ed have anything to do with this?" Carol asked.

"Oh that's right you're such a good mother why don't you ask your daughter the real reason she wouldn't let anyone close to her." He said, "You're a fuckin' piece of work. You act all innocent, oh poor Carol she married a piece of shit who likes to hit her. Where the hell were you when your husband was sneakin' in Clara's room at night huh? Or when he was watchin' her while she was bathin'?"

Carol slapped Daryl hard across the face, "How dare you! Ed had his faults but he didn't do that!"

Daryl face stung and it was all he could do to keep from slapping her back, hell at this point she probably would have deserved it but he wasn't that kinda bastard. "Why don't you ask her about it." He said before walking away.


	13. Chapter 13: The Truth

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. This is another chapter that has been really hard for me to write. I actually have teared up a time or two so I hope you all enjoy it. And again I wanted to mention that I will be breaking away from cannon things really start to change with this chapter.

To Emberka-2012: Daryl confronting Carol was a long time coming. A lot of things has been building to this. To Leyshla Gisel: I literally cringed when I wrote it, especially it coming from Carol who let her husband bitch slap the hell out of her on a regular basis. To JavaNut: The shit has hit the fan. To GatorGirl99 (one of my favorite writers): He has been itching to say something to Carol since he found out what a skeeze bucket Ed was. To Motherofdragons93: Thank you so much, you kinda gave me an ultimate compliment. I like strong females but I don't see Daryl hooking up with the female version of himself. I think that there are more important qualities that make someone strong besides being able to beat the shit out of someone twice your own size. As for paying attention to the episodes, I have season one on bluray and season two recorded on my DVR….I've watched them so much that my husband threatened to delete them.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: The Truth**

_Over the next few days Clara could never find herself alone with her father. It was almost like he was expecting an ambush from her. Maybe it was at dinner on Christmas Day when she accidently said for him to choke on the peas instead of passing them that gave away that she was beyond pissed at him. Finally on the day before she was to return to the university she caught him alone, drinking in the garage while playing with the military paraphernalia that he'd spent a fortune on stocking up on and collecting. "What'ch you want?" he grunted at his daughter. "Daddy didn't give you any attention this time you were home so decided to come find me yourself?" _

_Clara swallowed back the bile rising in her throat; her father having not tried to sneak into her had been a blessing. The fact that she knew he was sneaking into her sister's room, though he hadn't done it while she'd been home, was another matter. "I know that you've been sneaking into Sophia's room." She said, direct and to the point, that was the easiest way to handle her father. _

_Ed laughed as he turned to face Clara, "Jealous?" he asked. _

_She made a face, "Please. I just wanted to let you know if you go near her again I will report your ass to child services, I won't go with the police after all you have too many of Mariette's finest as friends and if that doesn't work I'll kill you." She said her blue eyes sparkling with anger. _

_Ed had no idea how he'd managed to raise such an ungrateful bitch of a daughter, "And exactly how do you plan to stop me? You're getting ready to go back to your fancy school. Besides you can't prove shit I never touched you…you touched me. Any judge will see you as a dirty slut." _

_Clara blinked up at him, "Seriously? That's seriously your argument?"_

"_It's my job to raise you, to keep you from being some filthy slut." Ed said the tone of his voice made it clear that he actually believed what he was saying. "When you started to get older I had to do something, you were always wearing those dresses and those tops that showed your tits, and those short shorts. You tempted everyone around you and I had to punish you because I knew that it wouldn't be long before one of those boys got a baby on you. I'm your father, it was my job to protect you."_

_Clara had tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. "You're sick!"_

_Ed took a step towards her, "I'm sick?" he asked looking down at her, "You're the reason I'm like this. You tempted me you tempt every man around you. I bet you went off to your school and you whored yourself to everyone who would have you." He grabbed her by her shoulders and slammed her against the wall. "Letting them touch what was mine!" _

_There was no doubt in Clara's mind of what was going to happen if she didn't get away from him. There was no arguing with him and there was no way she was going to let her father steal her virginity the way he'd stole everything else from her childhood. She scraped her fingernails down the side of his face kneed him as hard as she could in the groin before running out of the garage sobbing hard. _

Present Day

After the funeral Clara headed out to the swimming hole, she needed to be alone for a while but when she saw her mother there by the water ripping up the Cherokee Roses surprised her. "Mama?" she asked walking up behind her.

"Clara what are you doing here?" she asked wiping her eyes.

"I was looking for a place to be alone but since you're here I'll leave." She turned to walk away.

"No wait, I need to ask you about something." Carol said motioning her daughter to join her.

"Mama I just…need to be alone right now." Clara said.

"No, this can't wait," Carol said. "I need to know…Daryl said…and I need to know if your daddy done stuff to you."

Clara felt her legs go out from under her, she couldn't believe that Daryl had betrayed her the way he did. He'd promised her that he wouldn't tell anyone, she trusted him. She fought back tears and looked at her mother, "Daryl told you that?"

Carol nodded, "Please tell me it's not true."

Clara looked at her mother her brow wrinkled, "That would make it easier for you wouldn't it, not knowing the truth."

"Is that….when we came to get you from school is that why you didn't want to go with us? Because of him?" she asked. "Why you never wanted to come home?"

"The last time I was home Sophia told me that he'd started coming into her room and he almost raped me when I confronted him." She said. "If I could have taken Sophia and left I would have that night but I knew that he would have called the cops. I knew that I couldn't trust you to do something about it because you always were so afraid of him. Grandpa Joe would have protected you if you would have told him the truth. He would have killed Him if he knew the truth."

Carol recoiled as if she'd been slapped, "I never knew if I would have-"

Clara stood up she was sobbing hard, "You have let him keep doing what he was doing. I was fifteen years old when he made me start giving him oral sex. I thought that I was doing something wrong because of the way he would look at me. He told me that last night that I was home that it was my fault that he wanted me and that I was his property. I swore that I would never let him hurt me again and I would never go back to that house. You lied to me mama when you told me that he'd changed and that he wasn't hitting you anymore. You lied to get me to leave with you and the only reason he never touched me while we were in camp and the reason he left Sophia alone was because he was afraid of Daryl Dixon. Daryl caught him touching himself while he was watching me bathe."

Carol opened her mouth and closed it several times. Deep in her heart she knew that Ed's sickness had been more that liking to hurt her, but she hadn't wanted to know the truth. That's the reason she'd kept her eyes shut so tight against the things that Ed had done. She'd loved her husband and when she met him he'd been so good and charming. He'd promised her the things that she wanted most in life. She'd never had big dreams she wanted a husband to take care of her and a family of her own, a big kitchen to cook big meals in. It wasn't long after the ring was on her finger that she'd learned things about her husband that she never would have dreamed were true. In her youth she'd had golden curls that spilled down her back in the same way that Clara's did, six months into her marriage Ed dragged her from the living room into the kitchen by those curls because she had left dishes to dry in the drain board instead of putting them away. It wasn't long before she cut them all off adopting the severe pixie cut that she was now known for. Ed's reaction had been violent and almost sent her to the hospital, then he realized something, if he controlled the way she looked he could keep other men from wanting her. After that he controlled everything about her, from the things she wore to who she talked to, and when her hair started to silver she was forbidden to dye it. She wasn't allowed to wear make-up because he thought it made her look like a harlot. "I should have taken you girls and left." She said after a while, it was the only thing she could think to say. Nothing could make up for what she'd put them through.

"I never wanted you to know." Clara said the truth was she'd never wanted anyone to ever know.

"I'm your mother I should have known."

"Why you wouldn't have left him." Clara said wiping her eyes, "We shouldn't be doing this right now we're both going to say things we don't mean. I'm gonna go be alone for a while." She turned and walked away.

* * *

Daryl had been looking all over the place for Clara by the time he'd made it to the funeral everyone had already cleared away. He knew that he shouldn't have said the things that he did to Carol but he didn't understand that woman at all. Weren't mothers supposed to protect their children? He pushed that thought from his mind when he saw Clara coming out of the woods beside of the house. "I was starting to wonder where you were." He said approaching her. "Rick and Glenn are heading to town to find Hershel. Beth collapsed in the house she's catatonic. They asked me to go with them but I needed to find you first I wanted to make sure you were alright." All the betrayal Clara had been feeling when she'd found out that Daryl had told her mother those things came flooding back to her. Afraid that she'd say something she'd regret she pushed past him and headed towards her tent. "Clara what's the matter?"

She spun around and glared at him. "Don't you talk to me right now." She said her voice trembling.

It was then that Daryl knew Carol had confronted her and it was all his fault. "Clara please let me explain."

"Explain what?" she yelled at him. She knew that everyone could hear her but she was beyond caring at this point. She'd lost her sister what did it matter that she lost her dignity as well. "You promised me that you'd never tell anyone what I told you! How could you?"

Daryl had never felt more like a snake in his life. "I'm sorry." Those words alone were some of the hardest he'd ever had to utter. He never apologized even during those times that he knew that he was wrong and probably should. "I didn't mean for it to happen it just did."

"And that makes it all okay?" She asked wiping tears away. "I trusted you, and I don't do that very easily. I thought you cared about me."

"I do." He said trying to pull her against him only to have her push him away.

"It was bad enough that you knew that He made me do those things. What good was it to tell her? It's not like it would have changed anything!" she sobbed.

"None of that matters to me Clara." He said.

"Doesn't it?" she asked. "You called me broken and used up by daddy once."

"And you knew then that I never meant it. I said it because you were getting' too close to me and I didn't want you to hurt me." He said, it killed him that he'd said something to her hurt her, no matter if he'd meant it or not. "I'm just as broken and used up as you are." He pulled her against him and held her tightly while she cried.

"Oh Daryl," She sobbed her hands fisting in the back of his shirt.

Daryl watched as Rick and Glenn came out of the house he knew that they were ready to go. "Rick and Glenn are waitin' on me." He said kissing her hair. "Go lay down rest some I'll be back."

"Be careful," Clara looked up at him. She didn't want to let him go she was just realizing exactly how much she needed him. She couldn't handle it if something happened to him.


	14. Chapter 14: Gunslinger

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

To Emberka-2012: It was more hurt than anger I think. Clara felt betrayed. To JavaNut: Cue Dragnet dramatic music…now. To GatorGirl99: Carol does have an interesting view of things and sometimes she does deserve to tortured by spider bites or something cruel but in a lot of ways I feel sorry for her and I understand her. And you're welcome for the shout out I only speak the truth. I also watched the marathon my house was a complete mess because I didn't leave the couch took me all day on Monday to clean. I'm ready for it to be October now. To Leyshla Gisel: Yes the last chapter was a very depressing chapter but it had to happen. To motherofdragons93: Thank you so much you have no idea how much your review means to me. I've always liked to write and tell stories I've been doing it as a hobby since I was 16 and believe me there is some bad fan fic skeletons in my closet. I'm glad that you like Clara so much, there is some of me or people that I know in all of my original characters I like to make them 'real'. As for how I got started watching the show my husband and I are hardcore nerds we actually have a room in our house dedicated to our epic nerdiness. He actually started watching it first because the same people who were doing the make-up did the make up for Dawn of the Dead. I personally was never a zombie person and all through season one and half of season two I had to listen while he yelled at the TV. He'd tell me in detail everything that happened so finally I was like alright lets watch it and now I'm hooked. And to my anonymous reviewer, '1111': I'm glad that you like the story, I can promise that there will be action of the fleshy sort in the not too distant future (and by that I don't mean that one is going to go zombie and eat the other). I just had to get the characters developed and explain where they're coming from. I'm glad that you like my writing style I write the way I speak I always have.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Gunslinger**

Daryl was sitting in the front seat of the Cherokee his crossbow in his lap. The beginning of the ride had been fairly quiet but the way Glenn kept fidgeting in the back seat he could tell that the kid had something that he needed to talk about. The Chinaman couldn't keep anything to himself. "You alright back there kid?" Daryl asked. "You keep dancin' around like you're about to piss yourself. Didn't anyone tell you that you're supposed to go before you get in the car?"

Rick chuckled as he watched in the rear view mirror Glenn giving Daryl a death glare. "You know he does have a point." Rick said.

"Maggie told me she loves me." He blurted out.

"Congratulations." Daryl said.

"She didn't mean it." He replied.

"Are you stupid?" Daryl asked turning to look at Glenn.

"She just said it cause she's upset or something." Glenn said.

"I think she's smart enough to know what she's feeling." Rick said.

Glenn just shook his head, "No…no. She wants to be in love so she needs someone to project that on."

"I wouldn't tell her that." Daryl shook his head.

"What do you know about it?" Glenn asked.

"Apparently a hell of a lot more than you do." Daryl said shaking his head.

"It's pretty clear that Maggie loves you and it's not because you're one of the last men standing, so what's the problem?" Rick asked look in the rearview mirror at him.

"I didn't say it back." Glenn blurted out. "I just kinda stood there." Then he glared at Daryl, "Don't you say shit, I heard the shit that Clara yelled at you. You have no room to judge there buddy."

"I didn't say anythin'." Daryl said.

"Anyway I've never had a woman say that to me before, well besides my mom and my sisters. But with Maggie it's different, I mean we barely know each other what could she possibly no about me, nothing." Glenn said.

"I don't think that really matters none." Daryl said with a shrug and shifted uncomfortable in his seat. He wasn't use to talking about this love stuff or about emotions. Those things were foreign to him or at least they had been before he met Clara. "Doesn't seem like that's the way it works. It don't make sense none."

"He's got a point." Rick said.

"Yeah but I didn't know what to do I just stood there like a jerk." Glenn said.

"You're worrying about this too much." Rick said. "This is a good thing; we don't get too much of this anymore. So when we get back return the favor it's not like she's going anywhere."

"And if she smartens up and tries to run you can shoot her in the knee." Daryl offered causing the three of them to laugh.

"Is that what you did to Clara?" Glenn asked.

Daryl shifted again, "Hasn't come up."

"Well you do love her don't you?" Rick asked.

"Hey look isn't that the bar?" Daryl asked pointing.

Rick let the subject drop as he parked on the road beside the bar. It was easily accessed just in case they needed to make a hasty exit. The clamored out of the car weapons at the ready just in case before they headed into the bar. It was your typical old school dive bar there were mixed matched tables and chairs clean hardwood floors and black white pictures of the town dating back to its founding. The place was clear of walkers and Hershel was sitting at the bar a bottle of whiskey in front of him half empty and a tumbler in his hands. It was shocking to see the Christian farmer like this, so broken. Daryl took guard at the door while Glenn and Rick talked some sense into Hershel.

Daryl wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, to see the elderly man so broken. Maybe it was because he'd always been so positive about everything that was going on. He'd opened his life and his home to them and Shane went and pissed all over everything that the man believed in. He hated him for that. It was then that he really realized how much respect he had for Rick. Before he'd always been the asshole that'd cuffed his brother to a roof and left him to die. Things had changed, his opinions had changed, and hell to be honest he'd changed. He was momentarily distracted when the car pulled up in front of the bar. "You might wanna wrap this up looks like we have company." Daryl said. He moved from in front of the door and started to load his crossbow, just in case.

Rick, Hershel, and Glenn spun around as the door opened and two men walked inside. "Son of a bitch, they're still alive." One of the men said. They walked on into the bar while Rick started to pour drinks playing friendly with the new comers. "I'm Dave." the first guy said as he set down a drink in hand. "That scrawny looking dude is Tony."

Tony who was in fact anything but scrawny rolled his eyes. "Eat me Dave."

Dave scoffed. "Maybe someday I will. We met on I-95 coming out of Philly, a shit joint that was."

Glenn laughed, "I'm Glenn it's nice to meet some new people."

Daryl didn't quite share Glenn's sentiments, there was something about these men that he didn't trust and it was clear to him by their actions that Rick and Hershel felt the same. "Rick Grimes." Rick said handing out drinks.

"What about you pal?" Dave asked nodding to Hershel, "You have one?"

"I just quit." He said.

"Unique sense of timing my friend," Dave said.

"His name's Hershel he lost some people today." Rick said, "A lot of them."

Dave gave Hershel a look of sympathy. "I'm truly sorry to hear that." He lifted his glass and then said, "To better days and new friends, and to our dead. May they be in a better place." They all drank to it.

"So what about yous?" Tony asked Daryl.

"That's Daryl….he's….anti-social." Rick said causing Daryl to smirk.

"That's an interesting piece you got there." Dave nodded to the crossbow. "You any good?"

Daryl smirked as Glenn poured him another shot, "I'm decent."

Dave pulled his own gun out. "Yeah I pulled this off of a cop."

"I'm a cop." Rick said.

"This one was already dead." Dave grinned.

"Ya'll are a long way from Philadelphia." Daryl said.

"Feels like we're a long way from anywhere," Dave said.

"What drove you south?" Rick asked.

"I can tell you it wasn't the weather; I must have dropped 30 pounds in sweat alone down here. First it was DC, heard there might be some kinda refugee camp there. The roads were so jammed we never even got close. We decided to keep off of the highways into the sticks and keep hauling ass. Every group we came across had a new rumor how to get out of this thing."

"One told us there was a coast guard in the gulf sending ferries to the islands." Tony said with a laugh.

"The latest was a rail yard in Montgomery sending trains into the middle of the country, Kansas, Nebraska-"

"Nebraska?" Glenn asked.

"Low population lotsa guns." Tony said.

"Kinda makes sense." Glenn said.

"You ever been to Nebraska kid?" Dave asked. "There's a reason they call them flower states. What about you guys?"

"What about us?" Daryl grunted.

"Ft. Benning eventually," Rick said it was clear he wasn't giving up any information about where they were.

"I hate to piss in your Corn Flakes, Officer, but um…we ran across a grunt that was stationed in Ft. Benning, said the place is overrun by lame brains." Dave said his voice full of conviction.

"Wait Ft. Benning is gone?" Glenn asked. "Are you for real?"

"Sadly I am." Dave said. "The ugly truth is there is no way out of this mess. We just keep going from one pipe dream to the next. Praying none of these mindless freaks don't grab ahold of you when you sleep."

"If you sleep," Tony corrected.

"Yeah it don't look like you guys are hanging your hats here." Dave said quickly changing the subject. "You holed up some place else."

Daryl didn't like this; his hand was itching to put these assholes out of their misery. He wondered what Rick was thinking. He was always the one that was preaching that they didn't kill people but it was more than just their own asses that they had to look out for. They had the women back at the farm and hell Lori was pregnant and while he wasn't one of her biggest fans he still didn't want anything to happen to her. Not to mention he'd be damned if he ever anything happen to Clara. "Not really." Rick said nonchalantly.

"Those your cars out front?" Dave asked.

"Yeah." Glenn said quickly. "Why?"

"Well we're livin' in ours." Dave said. "Those look, kinda empty and clean. Where's all your gear?"

"We're with a larger group." Hershel said. "We're out scouting, long day's work we thought we'd have a drink."

Dave grinned, "A drink, Hershel I thought you quit."

"Well, we were thinking of setting up around here. IS there any place that's safe?" Dave asked.

"Can't be…there's a couple walkers around here." Glenn said. The boy was finally smartening up Daryl thought.

"Walkers? Is that what you call them?" Dave asked. "I like that, it's better than lame brains."

"Yeah," Glenn said.

"So what so you guys set up on the outskirts or something?" Dave asked, "That new development?"

"Trailer park or something?" Tony smirking at Daryl, who gave him a look that said he'd love to bury his hunting knife in the guy's gut, before standing up and walking across the floor.

"Farm?" Dave guessed. "Old McDonald had a farm...you on a farm?" Daryl was pretty sure he might kill Glenn if he gave anymore information of where they were at away. These bastards were disgusting hell they made Merle look housetrained. They watched as Tony walked over to a corner and start pissing on the floor. There was no way they'd let them anywhere near their women. "Is it safe, you got food and water?"

"Cooze?" Tony asked. "I haven't had a piece of ass in weeks."

"Pardon my friend he has no tact." Dave said then turned to Glenn he knew that he was the weakest link. "So listen Glenn-"

"We've said all we're gonna say." Daryl said quickly cutting him off.

"This farm it sounds pretty sweet." He ignored Daryl and looked over to his friend. "Don't it sound pretty sweet?"

"Yeah real sweet," Tony agreed.

"So, what about that southern hospitality?" Dave asked. "We have some buddies back in camp; they're having a real hard time. I don't see why you can't make room for a few more, we could pool our resources help each other out."

"Look I'm sorry, that's not an option." Rick said.

Dave looked over to Tony then back to Rick, "Don't sound like it will be a problem."

"Sorry we can't." Hershel said.

"We can't take in anymore." Rick said.

Dave laughed, "You guys are somethin' else. I mean I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for too."

Daryl snorted, "We don't know shit about you."

'That's true." Dave said. "You don't know anything about us you don't know what we had to go through out there. Things we've had to do," the tone of his voice was slightly threatening. "I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself am I right? Nobody's hands are clean in what's left of this world, we're all the same. So let's take a nice friendly hay ride to this farm and we'll get to know each other."

Rick looked down and then back up at the man, "That's not gonna happen."

"This is bullshit." Tony said.

"Calm down." Rick said.

Tony snapped, "Don't tell me to calm down, don't ever tell me to calm down! I'll shoot you four assholes in the head and take your damn farm!"

Rick stood and Daryl grabbed his crossbow, "Whoa…whoa." Dave said trying to cool things down. "Relax." He said to Tony. "No body's killing anybody, nobody's shooting anybody. Right Rick….Daryl?" he asked climbing up on the bar then laid his own hand gun down. "We're just friends having a drink. Now where's the good stuff?" He asked while looking under the bar. This situation was about to get very messy, and everyone there knew it. "You gotta understand we can't stay out there." Dave said pouring a drink while he watched Rick. "You know what it's like."

"I do." Rick agreed. "But the farm is too crowded as is. I'm sorry but you'll have to keep looking."

"Keep looking? Where do you suggest we look?" Dave asked.

"I hear Nebraska's nice." Rick said.

Dave laughed, "Ha ha…Nebraska?" What happened next was like a blur it happened so quickly, Dave went for his gun which was on the table but Rick was faster. He shot Dave in the head. Daryl turned on Tony who was planning to get Rick while his back was turned and shot him in the throat with his crossbow. Tony fell back his body jerking as blood pulsed from his body. Rick spun around and shot Tony in the head.

"Holy shit!" Glenn said as he and Hershel walked over to Daryl and Rick.

"You alright?" Rick asked Glenn.

"Yeah." Glenn whispered.

"Hershel?" Rick asked.

Hershel didn't say anything as he looked around the room. He knew that Rick and Daryl had done what needed to be done. There was no way he'd let these bastards anywhere near his girls or the rest of their people back at the farm. He wasn't exactly sure when he started to think of them as his people as well, but somehow they'd snuck in and become a permanent fixture in his life one that he wasn't going to let anything jeopardize. Slowly he walked over to Rick and just nodded.

"We need to get the hell out of here." Daryl said. "They said they had a group of people we don't want to be here when the dust settles."

"Let's head back." Hershel said they'd been away from the farm far too long. Especially if what Dave an Tony said was true, that there were more of their group around in this area.

Rick and Daryl made quick work of stripping the bodies of anything they could use, their weapons and any extra ammo they had. Daryl pulled the arrow out of Tony's neck and carelessly whipped the blood on his pants leg. They were on their way outside when they saw the headlights of a car pulling up in front of the bar. "Car…shit." Rick said as they all moved for cover.

They listened as the doors opened and the people who'd been inside came up on the wooden awning. They called for Dave and Tony and it was clear that they were going to come inside looking for them. Another one of the men mentioned having heard shots and that it was going to draw the undead to them. More than anything they wanted to get out of there but they still needed to find their lost men. After killing two walkers the men headed towards the bar, Glenn did the only thing he could think to do when the door opened, he slammed it shut in their faces and set down in front of it. "Hey is there someone in there?" one of the guys asked. "We don't want any trouble we're just looking for our friends. If something happened, tell us. This place is crawling with corpses. If you could help us not get killed I'd appreciate it."

"Dude I'm telling you nobody's in there." One of the other men said.

Rick looked over at Daryl who'd pulled his handgun out, just in case. Rick tossed Hershel the handgun that had come off of Dave before saying, "They drew on us." Hershel shot Rick a look like what the fuck did you say anything for.

"Dave and Tony in there?" the guy asked through the door. "They alive?"

"No." Rick said quickly.

"Come on lets go." One of the other men said.

"No we're not leaving!" the other argued. "I'm not gonna go back and tell everybody that Dave and Tony got shot by some assholes in a bar."

Rick was getting pissed, "Your friends drew on us! They gave us no choice! I'm sure we've all lost enough people." Daryl smirked at the cop's modified version of the truth. "Done things we wish we didn't have to, but it's like that now. You know that so let's just chalk this up to what it was. Wrong place wrong-" he didn't get the rest out because a bullet flew through the glass window on the door.

* * *

Clara was lying in her bed when she heard the zipper she rolled over to see Lori walk in. She hadn't really seen much of the woman in the past few days; they'd both been so busy doing other things. Lori looking after Carl and Clara keeping Daryl distracted. "Mind if I come in?" she asked.

"If you want;" Clara said.

"How are you holding up?" Lori asked sitting down beside of the younger woman.

"Better." Clara assured her.

"Shane found your mama wandering near the swimming hole. She's in shock I think, he got her cleaned up and Patricia gave her a sedative." Lori said stroking Clara's hair. "She's resting in the RV."

"Is Beth any better?" she asked.

"No Patricia started an IV but she doesn't know what to do for her. Until the men get back with Hershel, I don't think there's anything anyone can do."

"It's gotta be hard on her." Clara said wiping her eyes. "To hold on for so long believing that there was going to be a cure and then for it to be ripped away from you, what the hell was Shane thinking?"

"I don't think that he was thinking." Lori said.

"He couldn't have been." Clara agreed.

"How's your hand?" she asked.

To be honest Clara had been so distracted that she hadn't really given much thought to it, "Bruised and a little swollen."

"Do you need me to get you something for it?"

"No I think it's fine." Clara assured her. "How are you holding up?"

Lori sighed, "You know too?"

Clara nodded, "Only by default I saw Maggie right after she and Glenn got back from the pharmacy."

"Scared as hell," Lori admitted her eyes filling with tears. "I don't know if I want this baby and I feel guilty for it. I think about how hard our lives are now and I think about little Sophia and Amy. I always wanted a little girl. After Carl, Rick and I tried so long to have another baby I didn't think I could."

Clara set up and tucked one of her curls behind her ear. "I've never been the glass half full kind of girl. Not until recently anyway, this is the way I look at things and maybe I'm wrong. There's a lot of bad shit out there, but there has always been bad shit. There's never a good time to have a baby, I mean if it wasn't walkers it would be finances and all of that. Granted finances are a little easier to deal with than walkers but you have all of us to help you. This baby, it's hope, it's proof that life goes on, it's a miracle and I think that's something that we all need right now. We can't stop living Lori."

Lori blinked back tears and looked down at the younger woman, "How old are you again?"

"Twenty." Clara said.

"And how is it that you got so wise?" she asked.

"I'm a history major." Clara smiled, "And I read a lot."

"Daryl Dixon is a lucky man." Lori said.

"I'm the lucky one." Clara said.

"If this baby is a girl I hope she's brave like you." Lori said then looked away. "I heard you and Daryl's fight."

Clara looked away, "I figured."

"I wasn't going to say anything but I just want you to know that whatever Ed did do to you, it doesn't make you who you are. Don't let him keep you from being happy."

"I won't." she promised.

They set in silence for a few minutes before they heard someone coming barreling up the drive way like hell on wheels. "That's got to be the guys and the way they're coming something's wrong." Lori said standing up.

Clara stuffed her feet into her boots and followed Lori outside. She'd never felt more relieved in her life when she saw Daryl climb out of the car. She ran over to him and threw her arms around him. "Thank god." She said.

Daryl held her tightly and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. For a while that night, while they were pinned in the bar with assholes shooting at them and geeks coming after them he was wondering if any of them would make it out alive. "I'm okay." He assured her as he crushed her in a tight hug his hand sinking into her hair. He leaned down and claimed her lips in a hungry kiss not giving a damn who saw.

"I was so scared." Clara said against his lips.

"I'm fine." He said again.

Hershel climbed out of the car, "Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." He said before running to the house to check on Beth.

Lori looked into the back of the car, "Who's that?"

"That's our hostage." Daryl said nonchalantly.


	15. Chapter 15: Mine

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Mine**

Everyone was sitting around the table in the dining room, everyone except Hershel and Patricia who were attempting to save Randall's leg in the shed, Beth who'd been sedated, and Jimmy who was keeping Carl out of trouble. The toll the day had brought was showing on everyone's faces. They hadn't felt this devastate since the early days of the virus. Shane on the other hand was fuming, "What the hell were you thinking bringing him back here? We don't know him for shit."

"You're right we don't." Rick said. "We couldn't just leave him there like that."

"'Sides we need him alive." Daryl said his arm draping over the back of Clara's chair.

"Why?" Dale asked.

"He's part of a group." Rick said running his hand over his face. "They're camped out somewhere around here and we have reason to believe their hostile."

"So you decided to bring one of them back to the fort for tea?" Shane snapped. "You've endangered us all. You put Carl and Lori and the baby in danger."

If looks could kill Shane would be dead. While it wasn't a secret among the group that Lori and Shane had an intimate relationship while she'd believed Rick to be dead, they all went on pretending that they had no idea about it. It was clear to everyone that the man who'd been made a cuckold by his best friend was now in on the secret and he was far from happy about it. "I think that you should let me worry about *my* family." Rick said to Shane. "It's because I want to keep them safe that I brought that kid here. We need information on their group; we need to know where they're staying and if they're a threat to us."

Shane stood up and shook his head, "First it was running off to Atlanta to save a drug dealer, and then it was almost getting our asses blown up in the CDC. Then you lost Sophia and Carl got shot, then walkers in the barn. Now you brought in some stray kid that we're going to have to take care of until he's better. Your leadership skills are questionable at best."

"And yours are so much better?" Daryl asked. "I mean it was your piss poor decision to send Merle in with the group in the first place. Hell even I could have told you that it wasn't a good idea."

"Since when does a methed out redneck have an opinion? Next time we need meat on the table we'll call you." Shane said.

"Hey Shane, nice face." Daryl smirked, "I find it funny that a little girl who doesn't weight ninety pounds soakin' wet got the jump on you."

Hershel walked into the dining room still drying his hands. "Well he'll live as long as infection doesn't set in. It will be at least a week before he can walk. He shredded the muscle in the legs and there's going to be some nerve damage."

"And what do we do until then give him flowers and chocolates?" Shane asked.

"We keep him locked up until he's able to be interrogated." Rick said. "Then we'll go from there."

Shane shook his head, "You're making a mistake."

"I don't seem to recall asking you." Rick said.

Shane gave Rick a hard look before walking out of the house. Over the next hour they went over how they were going to handle their hostage. After all this was new territory for all of them, they agreed to make sure that there was someone guarding him at all times. Right now he wouldn't be much of a problem but once he became mobile it would be a different story. On top of all of that nobody trusted Shane; the guard on the boy was as much for his safety as well as their own.

* * *

After they finished up with their little 'family meeting', Daryl walked Clara back to her tent. "You can come inside." Clara said as she pushed the flaps to the door back and climbed inside.

"You sure that's a good idea?" he asked.

"I don't see why not." She said lighting the oil lamp that was sitting on the small folding table. "So are you going to tell me what happened?" she set down on the bed and slipped her boots off and set them in the corner.

Daryl raked his hand through his hair as he looked around the small tent. It reminded him of your average girl's room. There was a suitcase in the corner opened; it looked like it had exploded clothes. The folding table and chair was set up like a desk and scattered over the top were several different hair accessories and about a million bracelets. They were things that seemed trivial with all that was going on but he knew undoubtedly they were important to her. Beside of the bed was a stack of books, most of them were faded the spines pealing from use. Everything in here was something that made Clara who she was and he found that fascinating. "Not really much to tell." He shrugged and set down with her on the bed.

Clara could tell something was bothering him, Daryl might have been a man of few words but the silence he was giving was deafening. She moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You can talk to me." She said softly.

Daryl wasn't sure what to say to be honest and her actions always confused him. He'd never had anyone care for him before, not the way that she did. He ran his hand over hers before lifting it to his lips kissing it gently. "Got the hell scared out of me today." He said. "When we found Hershel, the man was a mess. He was about half way into a bottle; he'd completely given up hope. Well Rick got some sense talked into him and we were gettin' ready to go when two guys walked into the bar. A year ago…hell six months ago even I probably never would have given a second thought to them. Shit, Merle and me grew up with guys like them. I knew from the moment they walked into the bar what was gonna happen.  
They acted like they just wanted to make friends you know. They started askin' questions and shit wanted to know where our gear was at cause our cars were clean wanted to know about our camp and our people. It was almost like they'd been expectin' us to come you know. This fat fuckin' bastard stood up and pissed in the corner of the bar. I kept thinking about what would happen if we did do like these assholes wanted what would happen to you or Maggie, or Beth, or Lori, or any of the other women. Shit Merle weren't even house broken and he wouldn't do that shit."

"Then what happened?" she asked.

"We killed them." He said, "They wanted us to bring 'em back here make nice. We shot them down said there wasn't room on the farm. That fat fucker, the one who pissed on the floor, got really pissed off and his friend tried to calm him down playin' nice and all that shit. Next thing I know one guy draws on Rick, Rick shoots him in the head. Fat fucker tries to get the best of Rick I shot him in the throat with an arrow and Rick finished him off. After that it was like a scene out of an old western, before we had a chance to get out some of their buddies showed up and started firin' on us. It was like the shootout at the O.K. Corral. The noise drew walkers of course, we managed to get out of their alright but on our way out we found Randall. His leg was through the top of a rot iron fence, there geeks all over we couldn't leave the kid there plus we needed him for information."

Clara stiffened, "Do you think they'll come after him?" she asked.

"No, they left him for dead pro'ly expected us to do the same. They know that we're in the area and they know we killed their friends though." Daryl said.

"Are we safe here?" Clara asked her brow wrinkling.

Daryl turned around to face her, "Hey don't you worry about nothin'." He cupped her chin, "Ain't nothin' gonna happen to you. I won't let it." He said before kissing her hungrily.

Clara moaned softly when his demanding mouth came over hers. She loved the way his mouth moved against hers, she parted her lips letting his tongue sweep into her mouth tangling with her own. Daryl pulled her into his lap his hands sliding up her back pressing her against him. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this not like this. He was so afraid that she'd regret it later when she wasn't grieving for the loss of her sister. But that raw male side of him needed to know that she was safe and his. He fisted his hand in her long hair pulling her head back. He broke the kiss and looked down at her staring into her sparkling sapphire eyes. "I need to know that you ain't gonna regret this later." He said running his other hand down the smooth column of her neck.

"I won't." she promised before pulling him down into another kiss. She ran her hands up his chest before starting to work on the buttons of his shirt. She was half tempted to just jerk it open sending the buttons flying but buttons now a commodity after all. Once she'd finished she broke the kiss looking down at him as she pushed his shirt over his shoulders.

Daryl was a little nervous when he felt her eyes boring into him. While she had seen him without a shirt before she'd always made sure not to stare too long at the scars that marred his soft skin. He was grateful for the fact that the only thing lighting the small tent was the soft flickering glow of the oil lamp. The last thing he wanted to do was repulse the woman he felt so deeply about. What she did next surprised him more than anything. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the deep twisted scar that lacerated the pectoral muscle just above his heart. "We all have scars Daryl, yours are just on the outside." She said then looked up at him. "I think you're kinda beautiful."

He grunted as he laid her back on the bed, "Men ain't beautiful." He said coming down over top of her to rest between her soft thighs.

"You are." She said running her hands up his back.

"You're talkin' too much." His voice was playful as he leaned down to kiss her again his hands sliding up her sides pulling the thin sweater she wore with it before pulling it over her head. "Now this is beautiful." He said teasing her flesh with the tips of fingers. Clara's heart started to race as Daryl trailed kisses down the side of her neck as he pushed the strap of her bra over her shoulder. "Don't see why you bother with these damn things." He grunted as he managed to unhook it and jerk it out of his way before taking her nipple into his mouth causing her to gasp loudly.

Her brain was trying to answer his statement; though her breasts were relatively small it didn't mean that she wanted to have them sag down to her bellybutton. However the only sounds she could make come out of her mouth were soft whimpering noises. Her hand fisted in his hair as she arched off of the bed. Daryl ran his hand over her hip and squeezed her ass before lifting her up to press against his throbbing cock. He'd never been so turned on in his life; he loved the way she responded to his touch, his kisses. He wanted nothing more than to just jerk her jeans off and bury himself inside of her right then, deep down he knew the that her pleasure was a lot more important than his own.

She gasped when she felt him pressed so intimately against him. "Oh god Daryl." She sobbed as she grinded against him slowly.

He pulled back and looked down at her, "Not yet." He said undoing her jeans and pushing them along with her panties over her hips.

Clara wiggled out of her jeans; it was all she could do not to cover herself up. She'd never liked her body before and things that had happened in her past made her feel even more insecure about it. She thought of herself as being too tall and too skinny, with too small boobs. The way Daryl looked at her, made her forget all of those things. He came back over top of her and kissed her softly his hand sliding up her thigh before coming to rest at the center of body. "Daryl." She moaned against his lips her hands sliding up his back as she wiggled against his hand.

"Shh…..easy." he groaned teasing her clit.

"I can't be easy when you're doing that." She sobbed.

He grinned as he pulled back to look down at her, he wanted to watch her face while he teased her. It wasn't until he slid his finger inside of her that he got the shock of his life. "You're a vigin?" he asked pulling back.

A flush of humiliation covered her skin and she rolled away from him. "I didn't think it was a big deal." She said looking for her clothes.

"Fuck, Clara baby no it's not." He said pulling her back to him. "I just…I don't want to hurt you and I could have."

"I just didn't want to make a big deal about it." She said looking up him.

"We'll go slow." He said before kissing her again. "If it gets to be too much just let me know and we'll stop."

While Daryl might have been playing the calm cool guy on the outside, on the inside he was terrified. He'd never been with a virgin before but Merle had been with his share of them. He'd been telling Daryl tales for years about his conquests, while he normally ignored them there were a few details that managed to stick out in his mind. Things like 'bled like a stuck pig', and 'kept sobbing all over me' there was also, 'the poor girl couldn't walk properly for a week' as well but Daryl was pretty sure that the last one was just boasting. While Merle Dixon wouldn't man handle a woman on purpose he probably wasn't the best choice for your first time. Daryl just hoped that he didn't hurt Clara no more than necessary. Clara held him against her as he trailed kisses down the side of her neck and his hand slid down her thigh. She knew that even though he didn't say anything, he was just as nervous as she was maybe even more so. "I trust you Daryl." She said as she looked down at him.

It was all the encouragement Daryl needed; he flicked his tongue over her nipple as he teased her clit with the tip of his calloused finger. She arched completely off of the bed her body trembling in pleasure. She'd never had anyone make her feel like this before and she didn't want him to stop making her feel this way. The soft kitten noises she made in pleasure were enough to drive Daryl insane. The idea that no other man had ever been there before doing the things to her that he was doing turned him on more than anything else. Slowly, he slid his finger into her teasing her slowly while he trailed kisses over the upper curve of her breasts before leaning up to claim her lips in a hungry kiss.

Clara wasn't sure exactly how much of his teasing she could handle; a slow fire had started to burn in the pit of her belly. As good as it felt she wanted more, she knew that Daryl was playing with her, seeing how long he could keep her on the edge. "Please Daryl." She sobbed against his lips.

He pulled back and looked down at her as he buried his fingers inside of her again his thumb flicking her clit. Her nails dug into his back as she succumbed to her first orgasm. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before, her head was spinning her heart was pounding. She understood why the French called it _la petite mort. _She was almost positive that it could kill you but what a pleasant death it would be. "Wow." She half gasped half giggled when her brain finally started to work again.

Daryl couldn't help being a little smug. "Yeah." He grinned.

"Yeah.' She said leaning up to kiss him again.

"More?" he asked pulling away from her long enough to shed the rest of his clothes before coming over top of her.

"More." She agreed as she pulled him too her.

Daryl settled between her soft thighs and groaned as he slowly started to slide into her. She was so fucking tight that he was pretty sure that he'd finish before he even started. He took his time letting her body adjust to his before thrusting the rest of the way into her breaking the thin barrier of skin marking her virginity.

"Easy." Clara whimpered her nails digging into his back.

"Fuck, am I hurtin' you too much?" he asked looking down at her, "I ain't never done this before you, you know with a virgin."

"I'm okay…just…go slow." Her body started to relax under his.

Daryl wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly against him. He loved the way she felt under him, surrounding him. It was like nothing else he'd ever felt before. He leaned down and kissed her softly as he started to move. Clara ran her hands up his back she gasped against his lips as pleasure shot through her body. Daryl broke the kiss and looked down at her watching her while he claimed her slowly. He took his time making love her to her. While he might not have been a virgin, this was a new experience for him as well. He'd never seen anything as beautiful as he woman in his arms and he knew that he'd do anything to keep her happy, to keep her with him.

"Daryl." Clara sobbed as her body rocked against his meeting him thrust for thrust. Each time he was buried fully inside of her shocks of pleasure shot through her body and it wasn't long again before she was once again pushed over the edge. Daryl groaned when she came apart in his arms. He'd never experienced anything quite like this and he gave himself over to it. He buried himself inside of her spilling his seed. He collapsed on top of her, his own breathing as erratic as hers. "That was…amazing." She purred softly trailing kisses down the side of his neck.

"You're amazin'." He rolled off of afraid that he'd hurt her with his weight, before pulling her firmly into his arms. "I didn't hurt you too much did I?" he asked looking down at her his voice full of concern.

"No Daryl." She promised as she leaned up and kissed him softly. "I just need to know one thing."

"What's that?" he looked down at her his fingertips stroking her back.

"I need to know that you're not going to pull away again. I don't think I could handle it."

"I ain't goin' nowhere. You're stuck with me now girl. You're mine." He said nuzzling her gently.


	16. Chapter 16: Land of Confusion

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Land of Confusion**

Clara walked out to the shed with a tray in hand, Andrea who'd been standing guard unlocked the pad lock and let her inside. It had been a few days since Randall had joined them, or rather was forced to join them. In those few days things at camp had been tense, Shane was still pissed off because Randall was there and that put everyone on edge. She took a deep breath and walked over to the cot he was tied to. "I thought you might be hungry." Clara said sitting the tray down on an upside down milk crate. "Hershel said that you were off the painkillers so solid food shouldn't make you sick."

"Uh…thank you." Randall set up on the cot, as much as he could and let his eyes move over her while she fixed his plate. She was his age maybe a little younger, cute as hell too. She wasn't like the women that his group was use to running into. She was clean and smelled nice; she was dressed in a light pink sundress and pair of chocolate brown cowboy boots. To be honest, with the arguments he'd heard going on outside about him being here and the rough treatment that he'd been getting from the rest of the men, he was surprised to see her here. He figured even tied up, those assholes wouldn't let him in a hundred yards of any of their females, especially one as pretty as her. "My name's Randall."

She smiled, "I'm Clara and I'll be your server." She joked. "Today you're having a lovely meal of fried chicken, home fries, and cream corn. The portions are small but I managed to scam you an extra biscuit. Shane thinks that if we feed you too well that you'll get comfortable."

"Why are you bein' so nice to me?" Randall asked.

"Cause it's the end of the world. We all have it rough, I think maybe it's an old world notion but I believe in treating people how-" she was cut off when Daryl stormed into the shed.

"What the fuck do you think you're doin' Clara?" he yelled at her causing her to flinch.

"Hershel asked me to bring him lunch." She said her voice quivering.

He grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her away from Randall, "That kid is dangerous. He's our hostage not a fuckin' house guest!"

"You ain't gotta treat her like that." Randall said. "She wasn't hurtin' nothin'."

Daryl turned a fierce gaze to Randall, "Keep it up asswipe and I'll gag you." He turned back to Clara, "Let's go now!" he pulled her out of the garage.

Once they were outside Clara jerked away from Daryl, "How dare you treat me like that?" she looked up at him her eyes flashing with anger.

"How dare I treat you like what? How dare I try to keep you from getting' yourself killed?" he snapped at her. "I fuckin' care about you Clara, don't that mean shit to you?"

"He's tied up and you all treat him like he's an animal." She said. "It's no wonder he threw in his lots with those bastard they probably made him feel good about himself made him feel wanted. This isn't the way to handle this, Dale agrees with me. He shouldn't be tied up maybe if we treated him better-"

"He'd run off and go tell his buddies where we're at. We can't afford that Clara hell with the loss we just had I don't think we'd survive it right now." He said. "I don't want you to go near him again."

"Daryl, I'm a grown woman." She said.

"And you're *my* girl." He said.

"I might be your girl but you're not my daddy." She said. "Don't tell me what to do."

"You know what, fuck you I'm tired of goddamn baby-sittin' your ass. When you're ready to grow up you can come fuckin' find me I'm done with this shit." He growled at her before walking off towards the woods.

Clara stood there staring at him as she blinked back tears. It had been a long time since she'd saw that side of Daryl. "Hey sweetie, are you alright?" Andrea asked wrapping her arms around Clara. She leaned against the older woman and sobbed hard. "Clara it's going to be okay, you know how Daryl can be."

"I don't think he realizes how much he hurts me when he gets like this." She said trying to calm down. She hated getting like this. "He can be so mean."

Andrea walked back over to the shed and set down with Clara. "Well you gotta think about where he comes from. Back when we first met him, he was so different, wouldn't talk to anyone yell or growl at them yes. After Merle bailed well he's been different, you've made him different. I always thought that you had something to do with that."

"But can you really change someone, I mean look at my mother, she spent years trying to change my father." Clara said wiping her eyes. "I don't want to change Daryl I just want him to think before he says something he knows will hurt me."

"Well maybe you should talk to him about it." Andrea suggested.

"Maybe," Clara agreed. "I just don't know what to do."

* * *

It was late, Daryl hadn't made it back from his trek into the woods and Clara was starting to get worried. It wasn't the first time that he'd went out by himself on a hunt for two or three days, it wasn't even the first time that he'd gone off halfcocked. Still she didn't like the idea of him being out there while angry at her. Climbing out of bed she pulled on her well-worn Uggs and a hoodie before heading out of her tent. She knew that if Daryl knew she was out by herself he'd be pissed as fuck. She just needed some air, before she realized it she'd made her way over to the shed. "Randall, are you awake?" she asked.

"Clara?" he asked, she could hear him shifting on the bed. "What are you doin' out here?"

"Couldn't sleep." She said turning the chair they used for guard during the day around and faced the door.

"You didn't get in too much trouble did you?" he asked. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"Not really." She said. "I just….didn't….I can't talk to anyone in our group you know. There's just so much going on, they're all convinced that you're gonna get us all killed. We've had a lot of bad things happen and Daryl he's a good man but sometimes he can be pushy."

"Does he scare you?" Randall asked.

"Sometimes," Clara said. "I know that he cares about me and only wants to keep me safe. But are any of us safe really? Besides that, everyone is always fighting, most of the time we're at odds with each other. I just don't know how much longer I can handle it. I mean my baby sister was turned into a walker because of them and my mother….it destroyed her."

"If I get out of here, I'll take you to my people." Randall promised, "There's a lot of us, we protect our own. Hell you can bring your mom with you too. I heard you and that other woman talkin' earlier."

"Where is your group?" Clara asked, "I just…Daryl would come after me if I left I just wonder how far away they were we'd want to be safe before he showed up."

"Not too far, we're about 15 miles north of the town." Randall said, "There's an abandoned dairy farm."

"That sounds real nice." Clara said. "Is it safe?"

"We've ran into a few walkers, there's a lot of us. You know men, women, and kids. They'd love having you." He said.

Clara looked over her shoulder towards the trees, "Did you get all that?" she asked.

Daryl came out along with Rick, "We got it." Rick said.

Daryl walked up to Clara and wrapped his arms around her, "You did good, we'll get the rest out of him."

Randall couldn't believe what had just happened, "You bitch! You fucking bitch!"

_Two Days Earlier_

_Everyone was sitting around the table; they'd just finished dinner and were discussing ideas of how they might be able to get some basic information out of Randall. "I think we should just beat it out of him." Shane said. _

_Hershel shook his head, "I don't condone that, besides I don't think he's live through it." _

"_We need information now!" Shane snapped, "For all we know those assholes know where we are."_

"_Calm down Shane." Rick said. "We'll just have to figure out another way." _

"_Um…I might have an idea." Clara said. _

_Everyone was surprised as they turned to look at her, "What's that?" Rick asked. _

"_Well…there might be an easier way of doing it." Clara said._

"_If you're going to suggest that we send him on his way and track him-" Shane started._

"_Let the girl speak, Shane." Dale said then turned to Clara, "As you were saying?"_

_She went on to explain what she had in mind. Randall was your average kid, someone Maggie went to school with. She confirmed Clara's suspicions, that he'd always been one to follow the leader and was easily manipulated. "I think that we might be able to manipulate the information out of him." _

"_What do you mean?" Daryl asked eyeing Clara suspiciously. _

"_I got pretty good at acting over the years; I think I can use that to get the information out of him." She said she knew that Daryl was going to protest but she stopped him. "He's scared, he's been mistreated, and hell he had surgery performed in a shed. I think that if you play on his emotions that he'll give the information up without even thinking about it." _

"_You ain't goin' anywhere near him." Daryl said. "Find another way."_

"_He knows Maggie, and Beth is in no condition to do it. Andrea and Lori, no offense, are too old." Clara said. _

"_She does kind of a have a point." Rick said and gave Daryl a sheepish shrug. _

"_Give me a day if it doesn't work then we'll try something else." Clara said looking at Daryl. _

"_I don't like this." Daryl said. _

"_That's good, when you and I have a huge fight it will be believable." Clara said._

_After dinner Daryl walked with Clara back to her tent. He wanted to make sure she was safe inside before took his watch shift. "I ain't gonna lie I don't like this." He said running his hand down her arm, "At all." _

"_I'll never be alone with him he'll only think that I am." She said, "Andrea will be on guard tomorrow and you and Rick will always be near. I'll be safe. I need to do something to help the group." _

"_You help the group." He said, "In a nice safe, not in danger compasity." _

_Clara couldn't help but smile, "Nothing is nice, safe, and less dangerous anymore." She wrapped her arms around his neck. _

"_He makes a move on you I'll kill him." He leaned down and kissed her softly. _

"_I'll be safe." She promised nipping his lips. _

_Daryl bit back a groan as he pulled back looking down at her, "Go on to bed, I'll be here when Shane takes over." _

"_I'll be waiting." She gave him a heated look before slipping in the tent._


	17. Chapter 17: Aftermath

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. I have to say I'm slightly disappointed, I was hoping to have a 'what the shit' moment with the last chapter…*sigh* I'll have to try harder next time. I got the idea from an episode from S3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when they were trying to see if Faith had really joined 'the Darkside.' Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed. Sorry I didn't get this up last night, I ended up crashing out early.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Aftermath**

It took Rick and Shane to get Randall calmed down. Clara felt sorry for him; after all she knew that he had to be scared. Beyond that there was something about him that she didn't trust. She knew that there was more information that he was carrying but she never would have been able to get it out of him. It was the reason she put an end to it when she did. Plus she didn't like feeling the way she felt after her 'fight' with Daryl. While they both knew that it was only an act it still felt real. "You're quiet." Daryl said.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Clara said as she unzipped her tent.

"About what?" he asked as he zipped the tent back behind him and lit the oil lamp. With the nights becoming colder he knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before they were going to have to move inside. Everyone had been putting it off, while Hershel's house was big, it only had so much room in it and they had a lot of people. If they had another winter like they did the one before they were in for a treat.

Clara slipped her boots off and pulled the blankets back over her legs, "I didn't like fighting with you like that." She said.

"It weren't real." He said sitting down beside of her and pulling her into his arms. "You know I didn't mean what I said."

She nodded, "I know it just…I didn't like how it made me feel. I thought manipulating him would be easy but it wasn't."

"Well…you don't have to do that again." He promised as he cupped her chin. "What you did it helped, we know where they're at now. We can do some scoutin', see how big of threat that they are."

"If they are a threat, we're easy to pick off like this, living in tents. I mean look how much damage those walkers did when they attacked our camp." Clara said, "And with winter coming. I think most of us were hoping that this would have blown over by now and we'd be back living our safe lives."

"I never thought that." Daryl said. "I guess cause; you know the world it's always changin'. Empires fall-"

"Normally, they fall to other empires. Not hordes of undead people looking to eat their flesh." Clara pointed out.

"That is true." Daryl agreed. "I still think that if this never would have happened, I wouldn't have found you."

Clara smiled, "It could have happened. We're both from North Georgia."

He shook his head, "You would have met some college boy-"

"I've met a lot of college boys and I wasn't impressed." She said resting her chin on his shoulder, "None of them would understand me the way you do. You know what I've been through and it didn't make you cringe away from me. You don't treat me like I'm a broken little girl."

"You ain't no broken little girl." He said pushing her back on the bed and coming over top of her. "You're an amazingly strong woman." He kissed her hungrily before pulling back, "*My* woman."

Clara slid back on the bed so that Daryl could stretch out over top of her. She loved how his body felt covering hers, pressing intimately against her. A year ago she never would have thought she'd be able to give herself so completely to a man after everything she'd been through with her father. Daryl had changed that, he'd proven that there are some that are worth putting yourself out there for. There was one thing she knew for sure, she was completely, head over heels in love with Daryl Dixon. "I am yours." She agreed running her hands up his back as she cradled him between her thighs.

"How are you feelin'?" he asked his hands running up her sides as he gave her a tender look. He knew that he'd caused her pain the first night that they were together. The nights since, it had been pure torture to keep his hands off of her. He knew that he wouldn't be able to go another night without having her.

She smiled up at him. "I'm okay Daryl, really."

"Good." He said as he unzipped her hoodie and pushed it over her shoulders. He frowned when he saw the mark on her upper arm. A deep bruise that matched the size of his own hand perfectly, "Why didn't you tell me I hurt you?" he pulled back and looked down at her.

"Daryl it was nothing," she said sitting up. "It was an accident."

He raked his hand through his hair, "I fuckin' bruised you. You should have told me to stop." He was angry at himself.

Clara looked up at him. "Daryl, stop it." She cupped his face, "You would never intentionally hurt me and I know that. Hell it doesn't even hurt it only looks bad because my skin is so pale."

"Don't you ever let me hurt you like that again. I don't care if we're in the middle of doing a mind fuck on someone." He said.

"I'll see what I can do." She smiled at him.

He nipped her lips gently, "You'd better do more than that." He warned.

"I will." She said pulling him back down on the bed with her.

Daryl came over top of her and grinded against her slowly his hands roaming her lush body. He loved how she felt under him and the way she held him. She made him feel like he was someone who mattered; it was something he'd never had before. He leaned down and claimed her lips in a rough demanding kiss his tongue pushing into her mouth teasing her.

Clara unzipped his leather vest and pushed it over his shoulders before she started working on the buttons of his flannel shirt. She wanted to feel his skin under her hands. She wrapped one of her long legs around him holding him where she needed him most as she grinded slowly against him. Daryl shrugged out of his shirts before pulling his wife beater over his head. He jerked the thin tank top she'd been wearing over her head and jerked her sweats down. He slid his hand between her legs as he took her hard nipple into his mouth.

Clara wiggled against his hand in frustration; she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle his teasing tonight. "Daryl, I need you." She whimpered.

"I don't want to hurt you." He said sliding his fingers into her slowly with a groan.

"You won't." she said her eyes locking with his as she undone the front of his jeans and boldly slid her hand inside.

He closed his eyes and groaned, her small soft hand felt so good, wrapped around him. "You gotta stop that Clara." He said even though the pleasure in his voice said that he wanted anything but that.

"You sure?" she asked nipping the side of his neck.

He pulled her hand from his pants and freed himself from his jeans before sliding slowly inside of her causing her to hiss in pleasure and arch off of the bed. Daryl wrapped his arms around her holding her against his chest as he took her hard but slowly. He wanted to enjoy her, how she felt under him, the soft sobs that came from her lips each time he was buried fully inside of her. The frustrated sighs she made when he kept her hanging at the edge of completion but wouldn't let her go over. He loved the way her nails felt biting into his back and her legs wrapped around him. In fact he was pretty sure that there wasn't a damn thing about her that he didn't love. He pulled back enough to look down at her, to watch her face in the soft flickering glow of the oil lamp. When he felt her hot cream pour over him, her core wrapping around him milking him, he let himself go loosing himself inside of her.

Clara ran her hands up his back and nuzzled him gently; it was all she could do to keep those three words from pouring from her mouth. She didn't know how Daryl would handle it. He'd never been one to share his emotions most of the time he went about pretending that didn't have them. She liked how he was when they were alone, how he reserved this part of himself for her.

"What'ch you thinkin' about?" he asked as he slowly rolled off of her and pulled her to lay across his chest.

She smiled as she snuggled against him, "How much I like this."

"I like it too." He said running his hand down her back. It was something that he never would have thought he would have enjoyed. If Merle ever knew that this side of him existed he'd never hear the end of it. As much as he loved his brother, he'd never give this up, even if it did make him less of a man according to 'Merle's Rules of Being a Man'. "How did I get so lucky?" he asked softly.

She shook her head, "I'm the lucky one Daryl."

Her statement confused him, "How do you mean?"

"Cause in the middle of this shit storm, I managed to find you." She looked up at him.

"I ain't nobody special." He said looking down at her but even as he said the words he pulled her closer to him his thumb teasing her shoulder.

"To me you are." She leaned up and kissed him softly.


	18. Chapter 18:Reconnaissance&Reconciliation

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Reconnaissance and Reconciliation **

Daryl was distracted; he was out on a mission with Shane, Rick, and Glenn doing some reconnaissance on their new neighbors to the north. They'd left out pretty early that morning to get a good look at what they were dealing with. They'd set up a makeshift basecamp on top of a cliff that over looked the valley where the farm was at. From this distance the number of people running around looked like ants, they knew to get a good idea of what was going on they'd have to get closer. Since Glenn was the best at getting them in and out of places he was the natural choice for the mission and decided to take Shane with him as back up. Their objective was to try to gather any more information about Randall's group without making any contact. How they would handle things from there would be determined by what information they were able to find out just by observing.

Daryl was happy that Glenn had decided to take Shane with him closer to the dairy farm instead of him. He wasn't afraid that he'd end up getting the Asian kid killed and while he would never tell Glenn any differently, he would miss the little asshole if something happened to him. Not to mention what Maggie would do to him if he got Glenn killed, there were very few things that frightened him, Maggie with a meat cleaver was the stuff that nightmares were made of. That morning at breakfast she'd been ever so kind enough to demonstrate using a sausage link and her fork what would happen to 'Little Daryl' if one of two things happened: he hurt Clara or something happened to Glenn. "Are you okay?" Rick asked.

"Just seem to have a lot on my mind." Daryl said scanning the area with his binoculars. He was keeping an eye out for Glenn and Shane making sure that neither of the men got into any trouble. If they did it would be his and Rick's job to go in locked and loaded.

"Things alright with Clara?" Rick asked.

Daryl looked over at Rick studying him for a few minutes. While the two of them hadn't started off on a good note over the few months he'd known him he'd really grown to respect the man. He couldn't fault him for the way that he'd handled Merle in Atlanta. Though he missed his brother sometimes he wondered how things would have went had they found him in Atlanta. Shane had made a piss poor call as their leader when he made the conscious choice to send Merle along, hell if he would have been in camp instead of out hunting when it happened he would have stopped it. Merle had been the brother Daryl had been born with; he loved him and missed him like crazy. Rick had earned Daryl's trust and respect. He was given shit by almost everyone at camp for choices that he'd made but the more he thought about it Daryl knew that in those situations he would have done the same. Rick was becoming more and more like a brother to him, one that wouldn't berate him for who he was, for having emotions, hell for not being a racist bastard. "Clara's good…she's real good." Daryl said. "I ain't never had nobody make me feel like her. I can't stop thinking about her."

Rick nodded, "It used to be like that with me and Lori."

"What happened?" Daryl asked.

"Truth is I'm not sure." Rick said. "Before all this shit, before I got shot things weren't good with us. We were pretty young when we got married and not long after that she got pregnant with Carl. After a while we just started to drift apart."

"And now?" he asked studying the man.

"When I woke up from that coma all I could think of was finding her and Carl. I knew that I would, that they were still alive. The first few nights that we were back together, it was like when we were first together. Then those old trouble started to come back and a few new ones." Rick said. "What makes all this worst is that we'd tried for years after having Carl to have more kids and she couldn't get pregnant. Now I have no idea if this baby is mine or the man who's supposed to be my best friend's."

Daryl had always thought it was pretty shitty that Lori hooked up with Shane, not even month after her husband was left and presumed dead. It was one of the reasons he'd never cared much for the woman and Shane well, he was an asshole for taking advantage of the situation. "If you wanna kick his ass I'll take the kid and head back to the farm."

Rick laughed, "I thought we were talking about why you couldn't stay focused not my marriage problems."

"Well we both have our issues; I can't stop thinkin' about my woman in my arms. You keep thinkin' about yours in your best friends." Daryl said he knew that Rick was giving him a pissed off look. "I think you need to think about it like this. With all the shit goin' on you managed to find your wife and son healthy and whole. While she might have had some indiscretions she had no idea that you were still alive. That baby it's gonna need someone stable takin' care of it. Lately Shane's proved that he's anything but that. I've seen this look he gets in his eyes, I've only seen it on two other people in my whole life and I've know some real pieces of shit. And those would be Ed Peletier and my asshole bastard father. Maybe before all this happened Shane would have been a good father and shit but I don't think he's capable of it anymore."

Rick wanted to defend Shane and say that he was a good man but he'd been thinking the same things himself. Like how Shane had been ready to give up so easily on finding Sophia, and the cruel way he'd handled the situation with the walkers in the barn. How he'd slaughtered them in front of Hershel, Beth, Maggie, Patricia, and Jimmy. Hell Beth still wasn't completely over it she'd barely said more than a handful of things since she'd came out of her catatonic state. "I'll think about it." He said after a few minutes.

* * *

Clara walked into her tent and smiled when she saw that Daryl had moved his things into her tent before heading out that morning. She'd been spending the day keeping her mind off of where they'd gone and the fact that they had taken loose cannon, Shane with them on this mission. She was so afraid that he'd do something to in danger them. Still deep down she knew that there was another reason for it; to keep him away from Randall and Lori. Knowing that she needed to do something to keep her mind off of him being gone she decided to unpack his clothes. There were several of his shirts and jeans that needed to be mended and it would give her something to do. Plus this tent was technically home now, and she wanted him to feel comfortable with her there.

She was surprised when she found a thick notebook tucked carelessly among his clothes. It wasn't very large a little bigger than a journal and was leather bound. Thinking nothing of it she opened the cover and was surprised with what she found there. The paper was thicker than what you would find in your average journal, but this wasn't a journal, it was a portfolio. The pages were filled with drawings. While they were simple, just drawn with charcoal, they were probably some of the most beautiful sketches she'd seen. She knew that she shouldn't be looking through the book after all if Daryl wanted her to know about it he'd have told her. She was invading him privacy but she couldn't seem to help herself. She was intrigued by this side of Daryl that he kept hidden from everyone else. She knew that he had drawn them from life, the first several pages were mostly landscapes some of them had animals in them as well. One of them was of a deer and its fawn drinking water from a creek. Another was of Merle cleaning his kill after a hunting trip.

It was the more recent ones that Clara was most intrigued by. Several were drawn after the world had gone to shit, she recognized the people in them, many had been lost that fateful night at camp when they'd been attacked by walkers. There was one of Jim working on Dale's RV and another of Dale on top of the RV while on watch. Another one made her smile at the same time it broke her heart. While at camp she'd taken to looking after Sophia and Morales' daughter Eliza. It was the three of them sitting on a worn out blanket while having 'tea'. She found it interesting that Daryl would capture these people like this considering that they'd made it no secret how they'd felt about him.

The next picture made her blush a little, she knew Daryl had to have drawn it from memory after he caught Ed watching her bathing. She was the subject matter; she was standing in waist deep water her long hair was wet sticking to her back. She was turned looking over her shoulder and there were droplets of water running down her body. It was like looking at herself through Daryl's eyes, she'd never really thought of herself as being pretty but the way he portrayed her, it made her feel beautiful. She'd been so distracted she hadn't heard the footsteps outside of her tent. "Clara?" her mother called.

Clara quickly stashed the book back inside of Daryl's duffle and gathered the clothes that needed to be mended. "You can come in." she called to her mother.

Carol walked into the tent and looked around. In the few days since Sophia's funeral, since she'd learned the truth about what Ed had done to her daughters she'd been avoiding Clara. To be honest she was pretty sure Clara had been avoiding her as well. She just didn't know what to say, she felt ashamed. Ashamed for the things that had happened to her girls without her even knowing, ashamed for the way she'd behaved. She owed Daryl and apology for slapping him she had no right. There had been so many changes that had happened in her daughter's life over those few days and she hadn't been there for her. She hadn't even talked to her about them. "Do you need some help?" Carol asked.

"I was just doing some mending. Daryl's clothes are starting to come apart." Clara said opening her small sewing box.

"I just…wanted you to know that I'm proud of you. What you did to help the group, it was clever." Carol said sitting down in the folding chair.

"I just wanted to do what I could," Clara said. "We needed the information and Hershel was right when he said that to beat it from him would kill him. God only knows what Shane would have done to him." Clara said threading the needle.

Carol had issues about this topic. She didn't think that using violence against the boy was the right thing to do at all. In her eyes it would be stooping to their level and this group, it was better than that. "Would you have been okay with it?" she asked.

"I don't think that violence should be our first choice but if everything else fails we have to do what needs to be done to keep our people safe." Clara said looking at her mother. "Daryl told me about the other men that were in the group. If they would have brought them back here I have no doubts that they would have tried to kill our men and rape us."

"I'm happy you found Daryl." She said. "He's a good man he'll make sure you're safe."

"That's not why I'm with him." Clara said. "He understands me; he understands what I've been through because he's been through it too. I love him mama and yes he'll make sure that I'm safe. But I'll do everything in my power to make sure he's safe too."

Carol walked over to her daughter and kissed her onto of her head and hugged her tightly. She often wondered how she managed to raise someone like Clara. She was so strong and confidant, every quality that Carol lacked herself, she saw in her daughter. She didn't kid herself, she knew that she was far from a perfect mother, there were so many things that she'd done wrong. She was just happy that with everything that was going on that Clara was happy.


	19. Chapter 19: I Have A Theory

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry this has taken me so long to update. I just started a new job (blah) and have been insanely busy but I'll try to be better. On top of that I've went back and done some editing on the earlier chapters correcting mistakes that I've found while reading back over everything. I also wanted to say that I'm also working on a Boondock Saints fanfic with my best friend and writing partner. She and I have been writing original fiction together for years and I've been peer pressuring her into doing some fanfic with me. We've been huge TBS fans probably for as long as we've know each other and I told her that I'd feel dirty writing about Connor and Murphy all by myself. I'm not sure when that's going to be posted we have a shit ton of editing to do but so far it's come out really good.

To Leyshla Gisel, Zaii, and Emberka-2012: I'm glad that you liked Daryl's extra circular activities with the sketching. I actually got the idea for it after I did the first flash back where Daryl sees Clara bathing. Plus there's so much we don't know about Daryl and I like to find different angles to use in the different stories that I write that use the same characters. Daryl is such an interesting character and there's so many ways that you can interoperate how he's going to handle something. I actually had a visual (cause I'm a visual thinker) in my head of the drawing of Clara and I was like….I wonder how I could work that in and then I got to thinking about it I was like I can see Daryl being an artist. I mean we all think of him as this really bad ass hunter and tracker. I see it as something that he's never told anyone about but we'll get into that later. On top of that we all know Daryl is very intuitive and he pays attention to everything around him, like he picked up that Shane killed Otis because he brought Otis' gun back.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 19: I've Got a Theory (And It Ain't Bunnies)**

After she finished tidying up the tent Clara made her way up to the house. It wouldn't be long before it would be time to put dinner on and Maggie had her hands full with her sister. Beth might no longer be catatonic but the girl hadn't left her bed since she'd been put in it the day of the funerals. She frowned when she saw Jimmy sitting on the front porch, the boy looked like he wasn't far from tears. She knew that this had to be hard on him too. After all before all of this had happened, even with everything going on they'd been running around the farm like a pair of normal teenagers in love. "How's she doing?" Clara asked sitting on the porch steps beside of him.

Jimmy ran his hand over his face and put that goofy looking straw cowboy hat that he always wore back on. "I don't know she won't let me see her." He said.

She frowned, "I'm sorry Jimmy."

"I just…I want to be there you know…take care of her but she told me to get out." He said, she could tell the boy was near tears.

"You just have to give her time, you'll see, she'll come around." Clara assured him.

"I don't know 'bout that." He said wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "When she talked to me today, I think she's givin' up you know. She'd really been countin' on that cure."

"We're all hoping for a miracle." Clara patted his hand. "Beth loves you Jimmy, I've seen the way she looks at you."

"I don't know anymore." He said before standing up. "She scares the hell out of me. I'm afraid she's going to do something, hurt herself."

She frowned, "Have you told Maggie or Patricia?"

Jimmy shook his head, "She'd never forgive me if I did. I gotta go help with chores.' He said before walking away.

Clara nodded before standing up and walking into the house. Lori was in the kitchen along with Maggie. "I saw Jimmy outside he looks pretty down." She said.

Maggie nodded, "He's worried about her and she can't handle his hovering."

"I feel sorry for him." Clara said.

"She'll start to perk up in a few days." Lori said.

"I hope so." Clara said she couldn't shake what Jimmy had said about how he thought Beth was getting ready to give up. She decided for now that she best to keep it to herself, the last thing they needed was to put Beth on suicide watch if she wasn't suicidal. "So what's going on?"

"Not much." Maggie said she too seemed pretty down.

"Is it Glenn?" Clara frowned.

Maggie nodded, "I don't know what's going on with him to be honest. He told me that it was my fault that he froze during that shoot out. Because he didn't want me to lose him."

Clara couldn't help but laugh a little that was classic Glenn. As much as she loved the Asian he really did have a thing for blundering everything. "He really said that?"

Maggie nodded and she laughed too, "What do you say to that?"

"I think you need to tell him to man up and deal with it." Lori said popping a cucumber in her mouth. "Of course I wouldn't say man up."

Clara nodded, "Daryl told me about it not in a lot of details because Daryl's not much of a talker. He said those men were the worst of the worst. He said they made Merle look like quality people. He said that he thinks that they knew about the farm before they even brought it up."

"Daryl said they made Merle look pleasant?" Lori asked in shock.

Clara nodded she didn't think that Daryl's brother was a horrible person. She didn't really know him all that well before he was left in Atlanta when he was in camp she'd always made sure to stay clear of him. Merle Dixon was a loose cannon after all. "He did." Clara said. "But what I can't get out of my head is how these guys seemed to know about this farm. Randall had said they were living on a dairy farm but I wonder if they've used up their supplies or something."

"That farm hasn't really been up and running for a few years." Maggie said. "The last people to live there had retired; they had a few animals but nothing big. If they have as many people as Randall said they'd need to branch out try to scavenge supplies where they could."

"And on top of that with winter coming they'd need a structure to live in." Lori said.

"I'm not going to lie." Clara said. "I don't trust Randall. There's something about him that isn't right. I think he knew I was playing him."

"I don't know." Lori said, "I was out there while Shane and Rick were calming him down and he was livid."

"It could have been an act I don't know but there's something about him not right." Clara said.

"Randall was always kind of a strange kid." Maggie said, "He didn't really have any friends in school."

"Maybe you should say something to Rick and Shane." Lori suggested.

"No, Shane would fly off of the handle and probably go in that shed and execute him on the spot." Clara said.

Lori started to argue but she couldn't. In the last several weeks since Rick had made it back he'd been different. She barely recognized him at all. She knew that she had some to do with it. She had no right to take their relationship as far as she had. It wasn't fair to him and it wasn't fair to Rick. It was just that with everything going on the world was going to shit and she needed that human contact. She needed to know that she was still alive and could feel something other than grief. "Okay." She agreed.

* * *

Daryl had never been happier to see the farm than he was that night. He was starting to resent these missions off of the farm even though he knew that they were important. They hadn't really learned anything more about these people than what they knew before leaving. If they were shady they were playing that close to the vest almost like they'd been expecting to be under the proverbial microscope. To make matters worse the tension between Rick and Shane seemed to escalate when they were gone. The men hadn't really said anything to each other but it was like the longer they were in the car the more this ticking time bomb between them became more and more apparent. He knew that it wouldn't be much longer before the two men had it out. More than anything he just wanted to get back to Clara. He didn't like leaving the farm without her; he liked knowing that she was safe. It wasn't because he was so worried that something would happen to her, that was far from it Clara was a very capable woman and she knew how to take care of herself. What worried him was the fact that Randall was still on the farm. Something about that kid wasn't on the up and up.

Clara was on the porch when Daryl climbed out of the car and walked up to the house. "I was starting to worry." She said leaning against one of the rails.

Daryl walked over to Clara and wrapped his arms around her, "You ain't gotta worry, I'll always come back to you." He said before leaning down and kissing her.

Clara smiled against his lips her hands sliding up his back, "I'm holding you to that." She said. "Come on let's get you some dinner."

He nipped her bottom lip gently, "I wasn't done doing this." He ran his hand up the side of her neck as kissed her again.

"Daryl…"Clara closed her eyes and moaned softly against his lips. She loved when he was like this with her, when he couldn't get enough of her no matter who was around. His hand tangled in her hair as he free hand snaked around her waist holding her firmly against him he couldn't get enough of her. He was pretty sure no matter how long they lived he never would be. Clara slowly broke the kiss, "We really need to stop." She said her voice husky her lips swollen from his kisses.

Daryl opened his mouth to say something but frowned when he saw a shadow move out by the shed. "Wait here." He said before heading off to investigate what was going on.


	20. Chapter 20: Shadows

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Shadows **

As soon as Daryl disappeared in the dark shadows near the shed Clara ran into the house. God only knew what was out there and how many of what was there he would find. She was relieved to see Shane and Rick sitting at the table with Hershel discussing what they'd saw or rather hadn't seen at the dairy farm. Rick frowned when he saw the young woman, "Clara is everything okay?"

Clara shook her head, "Daryl and I were on the porch he saw something, a shadow moving near the she he ran out to see what it was."

Both Rick and Shane were quick to their feet. Shane pulled his side arm out and looked down at Clara, "Wait here."

Clara nodded, "Just be careful." She said her arms crossed around her middle as she followed them out on the porch. She knew that it would probably be better for her to wait in the house but she needed to be there when Daryl came back out of the woods. "Thought you could use this," Maggie said as she walked onto the porch and handed Clara a cup of steaming black coffee.

"Thank you." Clara said taking a sip of the hot beverage. She hadn't really paid attention to how much cooler the air had become since the sun went down.

"They're going to be fine you know." Maggie set down beside of her in the other rocker and sipped her own coffee.

"I know." Clara said. "But we have no idea what he just chased through the woods. It could be anything."

Maggie nodded, "Glenn told me what they found up at the dairy farm or rather what they didn't find. He said that there was nowhere near the people that Randall implied. There's just a lot of things that aren't adding up."

Clara nodded, "I know, it kind reminds me of the story about the Trojan horse." She said then gave Maggie a sly grin, "And I'm not talking about the latex kind either."

"Haha…really cute." Maggie said she too was trying to keep a straight face. She knew that she never should have told Clara about the condom incident in the pharmacy.

Clara giggled, "It was just too easy."

"Kinda like you?" Maggie said good naturedly.

She gasped, "I can't believe you just said that to me." She said in mock shock.

"Speaking of condoms….you and Daryl you're being careful right?" Maggie asked like a concerned older sister.

Clara blushed little, "I'm not sure that I know what you're talking about."

"Please." Maggie rolled her eyes, "We all know that Daryl didn't move into your tent so you could braid each other's hair."

"Ya'll are just a dirty minded bunch is all." Clara said sitting her mug on the table.

"I'm just trying to look out for you." Maggie said. "I mean the last thing you want to do is end up pregnant. I mean exactly what kind of life would this be for a baby?"

Clara rocked back and forth in her chair for a few minutes before she spoke again. "I think we've all been too busy surviving that we've forgotten how to live. I want to do more than just survive. I want to have a life and a family."

Maggie nodded, "I want all that too."

* * *

Daryl glanced back at Clara before heading out towards the shed his crossbow at the ready. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to find but he knew that he saw something moving. He made sure Randall was secure before shining the flash light on the ground to see if there was a trail. He hated tracking in the dark the signs were much harder to read but he wasn't about to let this wait until morning. "Find anything?" Rick asked as he and Shane came up behind him.

Daryl shook his head, "Clara send you?"

Rick nodded, "She was worried."

"There was someone near that shed." Daryl said.

"You sure you didn't see a walker or something?" Shane asked dismissing Daryl.

"Well if it is a walker don't you think it's a good idea to take care of it?" Daryl asked. "I mean we are after all sleeping on the ground in tents and nine out of ten it's never just one walker. They normally have friends."

"Well?" Shane asked.

"This weren't no walker, they kind of shuffle their feet when they walk." Daryl said standing up and heading into the woods scanning the ground with the flash light.

"I thought you couldn't track at night." Shane asked.

"Anything's possible it's just harder." Daryl said.

"Shane drop it." Rick said shooting a look at his friend. "I don't know about you but I want to get this taken care of and spend some time with my wife."

Daryl noticed the look of pure loathing that Shane gave Rick but he didn't say anything. He had more important things on his mind than Shane's borderline obsession with Lori. "You two knock it off you bicker like old ladies." Daryl said. "You keep it up we won't find who we're looking for."

"If there's anyone to find," Shane snorted.

"You know this is much easier when I do it by myself." Daryl said.

"We'll be quiet." Rick said then looked over at his frienemy. "Right Shane?"

"Whatever." Shane said.

Daryl walked a good ten yards ahead of them as he led them deeper into the woods with only his flashlight to guide them. He stopped very so often leaning down to check the tracks on the ground. Before they knew realized it they'd made their way to the highway. "I'd say whoever was at the farm took off." Daryl said, he was frustrated he was sure that if it hadn't been for Shane slowing them down that they'd have made it in time to find them.

"They can fly?" Shane asked stupidly.

"I can see you were never the brains of the operation." Daryl rolled his eyes, "They can drive."

"Fuck you." Shane snapped at Daryl.

"Come on lets head back to the farm." Rick said.

"I'll see if I can get a better look at these tracks tomorrow." Daryl said as he turned he saw movement again another shadow or perhaps the same one. "Wait here I wanna check something." He said before heading across the road.

Once he was back in the grass he leaned down to check to see if there were any more tracks. It was then that he was taken off guard. Someone rushed him knocking him back on the ground, Daryl looked up and saw a fury of fists. Regaining his wits he slammed his fist into the body's face and knocked him back on the ground before coming over top of him grabbing him by the shirt and punching him over and over in the face before the guy finally went limp giving up the fight. "We need to get him back to the farm." Rick said to Daryl who nodded in agreement.


	21. Chapter 21: Sins of the Father

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. This is another chapter that was really hard to write. It started out in one place and ended up in another but I think that you all will really enjoy it. I do want to stress the warning on this story for this chapter.

To motherofdragons93: Glad you're enjoying the updates and like where the story is going. I really want to do something different because we all know what happened in the TV series. I personally really wished they would have played up the conflict with Randall's people but with bring in the Governor is S03 and there's major conflict there I understand why they didn't. On top of that I thrive on drama I don't like when things get too quiet. I was actually sitting there going you know I bet MoD93 just got her daughter into and is waiting for me to update. *g* To Leyshla Gisel: Indeed there is. To Emberka-2012: And it's about to get a lot more interesting. And finally To CaitlynCollision: It's about damn time woman.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Sins of the Father**

Clara was still waiting on the porch when Rick, Shane, and Daryl came out of the woods. She was surprised when she saw that they weren't alone. They had another man with them and by the way they were treating him, he wasn't there to make friends. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties and was dressed in a pair of worn out jeans and a dark colored hoodie. There was nothing about the man that was striking, from his shaggy mousy brown hair to his average size and height. He was the type of person who would have been easily over looked. After sitting her empty coffee cup down she came off of the porch. "What happened?" she asked when she saw Daryl's busted lip, the cut above his eye, and the bruise on his jaw. Of course their new hostage looked a lot worse for wear.

"Go wait for me in the tent." Daryl said in a slightly snappy voice. He couldn't explain it but he didn't want this piece of shit to see his woman.

Clara nodded, "Alright." She said.

She wasn't sure how long she paced the nylon floor the tent before Daryl finally came in. He didn't say anything he just pulled her into his arms and held her against him inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "Let me clean those cuts." She said softly pulling back.

Daryl nodded and set down on their bed he started to protest but stopped. He liked that she wanted to take care of him, for too long he'd been taking care of himself and he was finding that he liked this even better. "They ain't bad." He assured her.

Clara nodded as she poured some alcohol on a cotton ball. She stood between his legs, gently cradling his face in her hand. "This will burn." She said before dabbing the cut above is eye gently.

Daryl hissed and started to jerk back but she held him still, "That shit hurts."

"Stop being such a baby." She said before gently blowing on the cut to help with the sting. Daryl bit back a groan as he ran his hands up the back of her legs. "Better?" she asked looking down at him.

"Yeah." He said with a groan. While she was cleaning the cuts on his face, Daryl was slowly unbuttoning the buttons on the pink and grey flannel shirt she'd been wearing.

"What are you doing?" she laughed as he pushed the shirt over her shoulders leaving her in the thin heather grey cami she'd been wearing under it.

"Nothin'," he gave her an innocent look as he started undoing her jeans.

She couldn't help but laugh a little, "Nothing?" she asked.

"Well I figured those jeans are so tight, you had to be uncomfortable." He shrugged.

"That right?" she asked.

"Has to be." He said before pushing the jeans over her hips as he ran his tongue along her lower belly just above her pantie line.

Clara moaned softly, as she ran her hand through his hair watching him. He looked up at her as he pushed her jeans the rest of the way down her legs and helped her step out of them. Daryl bit back a groan as he looked up at her. He was pretty sure that she had no idea exactly how beautiful she was. He'd never felt like this about anyone before and when he looked at Clara he knew that she'd been meant for him. That these fucked up things had to happen in the world so that they would meet. She made him want things, things that he'd never even given any thought to before when the world wasn't a shit hole. He wanted a life with her and everything that a life with someone offered. He wanted the house, the damn fence, and the kids even that stupid half of a kid who got itself eaten by a walker. He could see it all in his head, her swollen with his child wearing one of those damn sundresses she liked to torture him with. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her belly gently.

Clara watched him; this was one of those times that she wished she could read his thoughts. She never knew what he was thinking and how he was going to react to something. The tender way he touched her, the way he looked her, she knew she'd never get enough of that even if they lived forever. She knew that it sounded crazy but with everything that had happened, the world going to shit, the death of her baby sister, not knowing if the rest of her family was alive, and living in a tent; she'd never been more happy in her life. "Daryl." She closed her eyes and moaned softly.

"Yeah?" he asked nipping her pelvic bone as he looked up at her. Shivers broke out over Clara's skin and it wasn't because of the cool air in the tent. She leaned down and kissed him hungrily her ringlet curls falling around them like a curtain. He groaned his tongue slowly pushing into the warmth of her mouth her taste over whelming him. He ran his hands over her ass squeezing it gently.

Clara's head was spinning when he broke the kiss. His hands slid into the waist of her panties pushing them down her legs. It wasn't until he'd positioned her leg on the bed beside of him that she realized what he'd intended to do. It was something that she swore when she was 15 years old that she'd never let anyone do to her. "Daryl stop." She said pushing him away.

Daryl frowned as he watched while she changed into her pajamas. It wasn't that she stopped him that upset him it was how she was visibly shaking in fear that worried him. "Clara baby talk to me." He said coming up behind her and ran his hands down her bare arms. After their first night together hadn't brought back memories of the things Ed had made her do he had pushed it to the back of his mind. The last thing he expected was for her to reject him.

She stiffened a little, "What's to talk about?" she asked blinking back tears she was grateful for the fact that he hadn't made her look at him, she knew he had to be upset.

"About what just happened." He said.

She took a deep breath, "It was nothing I just don't do that…I *won't* do that." She was hoping that he'd drop the subject at that but deep down she knew he wouldn't.

"I'd never make you do anything you don't want to." He promised as he turned her around and wrapped her in his arms. He couldn't ignore the fact that that she was trembling.

She nodded, "I know." She said laying her head against his chest her hands sliding up his back.

"Have you talked before?" he asked. "I mean about the things Ed made you do?"

She shook her head, "No only to you and now Mama." Even then she'd never given them the details of what had happened only that it had.

He nodded, he'd never set much in store about head shrinking and all that nonsense but there was one thing he couldn't deny. When something upset him no matter how big or small he always felt better once he got it all out. The fact that she'd had this building inside of her for years and the only time it had broken free had been recently and only with him, it broke his heart. "Let's get you into bed." He said pulling the blankets back for her. Once she was tucked in, he undressed and slid into the bed behind her pulling her tightly into his arms.

Clara closed her eyes and ran her hands over his arms. "I love you Daryl." She said softly to be honest she wasn't even sure if he heard her.

Daryl laid there; he was feeling like a complete asshole for giving Glenn shit when he wasn't able to say it back to Maggie. He understood where the kid was coming from, how powerful those three small words were. He'd never had anyone say that to him before, he liked to believe that his mom but the memories he had of her was her drowning her sorrows in a bottle. Even though he felt the same he wasn't ready to say it back, "I know." He said after a long pause and then looked down at her. "You know that nothin' can change that right?" he asked. "It don't matter what happened before it don't change it."

She wanted to believe him really deep down she did. There was that voice, His voice in the back of her head though telling her that she was unnatural. That the things he'd made her do him were her fault that nobody would believe that she was innocent. That she was nothing but a filthy whore and she deserved what she got. "I was fourteen when it started." She said her voice sounding disconnected. "Up until that point He'd never really had much to do with me and Sophia. At least not when people weren't around, He liked our neighbors and the people he worked with to think that He was a good husband and a wonderful father. Truth was He was disappointed that we were both girls. Nobody knew that He hit my mama not even her family, He was really good about keeping it a secret, and mama she was so scared of Him she never tried to stop it or to leave Him. My Aunt Karen and my Granny Caroline they hated Him. Before they got married she had hair like mine liked to dress up and wear makeup and pretty clothes. Then after they got married He put a stop to it He told her what she could and couldn't wear He was afraid that she'd attract someone else and leave Him." Clara paused and wiped her silent tears from her eyes. She knew that she was rambling it was something that happened when she got upset. "After Sophia was born and I started to get older He started to change more. He became more aggressive towards Mama. The day that He started on me, I can remember it like it was yesterday….

_It was one of those miserable hot summer days in North Georgia. The heat was so bad that it made you nauseous just to go outside. Clara had been with her best friend, Marissa, all day at the public pool and was completely exhausted. She wasn't sure what it was about swimming that wore you out. As she climbed out of Marissa's mom's jeep she grabbed her basket style tote that her things were in. "Are you sure you can't stay the night?" Marissa asked. "Mom rented The Decent and The Hills Have Eyes. You know I can't watch horror movies by myself." _

_Clara sighed, she remembered the last time she and Marissa decided to watch horror flicks. The rented House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects. They ended up being awake all night and had every light in the house on. Still when you best friend want to watch horror you watched horror. She looked towards the house and frowned when she saw her father standing at the picture window. She'd forgotten that her mother started her new job at the hospital and was working nights. Had Carol been home it wouldn't have been an issue for her to make plans with her friend. Ed was another matter. She had a theory that it was her father's mission in life to make her life and anyone in the tri-county area miserable. "I'll try." She said. _

"_If not, call me?" Marissa asked. _

"_Promise," Clara hugged her friend and watched as the car pulled out of the driveway. _

_As she was starting towards the house, Kevin, a boy she'd known since she was in diapers walked up to her. He'd always been a little too tall a little too skinny. It was something that they joked about having in common. Since he'd made it onto the high school football team he'd started to fill out more and to be honest he was actually kind of cute. Since school ended they'd had a mild flirtation and had went to the movies a time or two. There had been some hand holding and one botched attempt at a first kiss where someone had called Clara's name, she turned her head and he ended up eating her hair."What's goin' on Clara?" he asked._

"_Um nothing really." She said. "Marissa and I were at the pool all day. Kinda tired." _

_He nodded, "Look I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out this weekend or something. It's the last chance we'll get before school starts back. My mom's making me go see my dad and his new family." He rolled his eyes. _

_Clara didn't get a chance to answer before the front door flung opened and Ed was standing there with a beer in hand. "House now!" he snapped at his daughter. _

_Clara had never been more embarrassed in her whole life. "I'll see you later." She said. _

"_Yeah." Kevin raked his hand through his hair. _

"_You get the fuck off of my property before I call the cops!" Ed snapped at the boy. "You ain't wanted around here."_

_Clara knew that her face had to be beet red and not just from the sunburn she'd gotten that day while swimming. She didn't know why her father had to be like that. "Was that necessary?" she asked her father. _

"_Don't you take that tone with me." Ed said taking a drink of his beer. "I told you that I didn't want that little asshole comin' around here. Especially with you dressed like some fucking whore." _

_She looked down at what she was wearing a pair of cut off shorts and a white button up shirt over her red and white polka dot bikini and some flip flips. She didn't think that there was anything whorish about what she was wearing. "I was at the pool." She said confused. _

"_You were supposed to be home two hours ago. What were you and Marissa doing sluttin' around with the boys down there?" he asked his eyes raking slowly over his daughter's body. _

_Clara crossed her arms over her breasts. She'd never felt more uncomfortable in her whole life. "We weren't slutting around we were just swimming. Mama helped me pick this bathing suit out she said it was okay." _

_Ed slapped his daughter across the face hard enough to split her lip and leave a stinging hand print on her cheek. "When I want your mama's opinion I'll give it to her. It's time you learned how things work around here. This is my goddamn house and the only reason you get to live here is because I fucking let you." _

"I stayed in my room for the rest of the day." She said wiping tears from her eyes. "I couldn't believe He'd hit me. That night He came to my room, I'd been in bed reading. I kept thinking over and over that He'd never come in my room before. I knew that there was something wrong but I guess I was still in shock that He'd hit me. Normally you hear these stories how after the abuser in a situation has acted out, they apologize and say they'll never do it again. He didn't do that, He came in and set down on my bed beside of me. I remember pulling my knees up trying to make myself as small as I could because maybe then He'd leave me alone. He told me that the reason He did the things that He did was because it was His job to teach me. He said that I wasn't allowed to date anymore because boys got the wrong idea about girls. I wasn't allowed to see Kevin and Marissa after that at least not outside of school. He said that they were a bad influence and that Marissa's mom was a whore because she was raising Marissa on her own. He said that I was His and leaned forward and kissed me. It shocked me so much that I just sat there in complete shock. That made Him angry too and He hit me again and said that when He kissed me I'd better kiss Him back."

Daryl's arms were tense around Clara and his hands were clinched in white knuckled fists. He'd never been more livid in his whole life sure that was what he'd thought the morning he'd caught Ed with his shorts around his ankles jerking off while watching his father bathe. Again when he learned that Ed made Clara do things to him but this…this information she was giving to him right now put the icing on the cake. He wished more than anything that the bastard was still alive. What made it worse is that he knew there was more. "Then what happened?"

She closed her eyes as two tears poured down her cheeks. "He would watch me through the day, the nights Mama had to work He'd come in my room. Sometimes he'd make me undress and he'd touch himself while looking at me. Other times-" she paused and took a deep breath her voice was trembling and it was all she could do to keep from breaking down and crying. "Other times he'd lay on my bed beside of me and he'd make me kiss him while I touched him. After a while that wasn't enough, he make me get on my knees and give him oral sex." She broke down crying so hard that her whole body shook from it. Daryl rolled her over in his arms; the heart break he heard in her voice was enough to make his throat feel tight and tears to form in his eyes as well. He hadn't felt this level of devastation since learning that his brother had been left alive on that roof in Atlanta. He had no idea what to say to make this better if there was anything he could say.

"I remember how humiliating that was." She said once she was able to find her voice. "How dirty it made me feel, I don't want to be in that position again and I don't want someone that I love to be in it either."

Daryl cupped chin in his hand and lifted it so he could look at her. "Listen to me Clara Peletier there ain't nothin' wrong, or dirty, or humiliatin' about what's between us you hear me?"

Clara nodded, "I hear you."

"What we have it's beautiful and perfect." He said it was then that he wished he watched those annoying romantic comedies that girls were so impressed by. He didn't know how to express how he felt what he meant, "Ed he was the one who was wrong, and dirty. What he made you do ain't no daddy should ever do that to his daughters. That was on him it wasn't on you."

"I know." She said softly as she looked up at him.

"I hate that he ruined somethin' like that for you." He said. "Cause it can be good…really good. And you weren't makin' me do shit I was doin' it cause I wanted to do it."

Clara laid there in silence for a while not sure what to say to him. She felt so vulnerable she'd given him all of her darkest secrets. Those were things she never thought she'd share with anyone and yet Daryl Dixon was able to get them out of her.

"My dad he was a piece of shit too." Daryl said after a long while. He wasn't sure why he was telling her this. He'd never talked about before at all, hell Merle had grown up in the same house and they never talked about it either. "He beat the hell out of me and Merle when we were kids. He had this belt it was real thick made out of leather and he used it on us. When I was 12 Merle he was in juvie, Merle was always in trouble for one thing or another, he was beatin' on me and my mother tried to stop him. It's the only time I ever remember her doing it she was usually so drunk she couldn't see straight. Anyway he got pissed and he beat her to death."

Clara blinked back tears, "I'm so sorry Daryl."

"I want you to know that I'd never do that to you. I wouldn't raise a hand in anger at you or you know if we have some little ones someday I wouldn't hurt them."

"I know." Clara said before kissing him softly.


	22. Chapter 22: The Evil that Men Do

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

To Emberka-2012: Clara had been holding onto all of that hurt and guilt for a long time. It was really hard for her to open up to Daryl about it because she does feel so deeply for him. Now that she got it all out I think it's going to make her stronger in the long run. To JavaNut: I really, really loath having Ed Peletier in my head. I've always kind of let the characters tell their own story. I've always said that I don't 'create' characters they just kind of show up and some of them have backstories but most of the time I have no idea what's going to happen. My husband actually jokes about 'the people in my head' and how one day he's going to have me committed. To GatorGirl99: Both of them have been carrying around this burden if you will. Both of them have been hurt a lot I just didn't see them playing all of their cards at once. To BeingLolaStar: I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and hey I completely understand on that whole not having time to review all of the time. I literally cried my eyes out while working on the last chapter. To Leyshla Gisel: Like I said before picture Liam Neeson in _Taken _combined with Gerard Butler in _Law Abiding Citizen _and throw in a pinch of Mel Gibson in _Braveheart_ it might give you an idea of what would happen if Ed was alive and Daryl got his hands on him.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 22: The Evil that Men Do**

As the sun spilled through the thin nylon walls of the tent slowly Daryl untangled himself from Clara's embrace and set up. He set there on the edge of the bed for a few minutes looking over his shoulder at her. It had been just before dawn before she finally fell asleep, he'd just lain beside of her holding her watching her while she slept. He just had too much going on in his mind. He ran his hand over his face before reaching for his clothes and dressing for what promised to be another long day. As he was pulling on his flannel shirt he noticed something where the small snags the shirt had received while being out the woods had been there were neat needle stitches. He knew that Clara had been the one to mend them and her thoughtfulness touched him deeply. He made sure the blankets were tucked around her before leaning over and kissing her softly. He grabbed his crossbow and headed out of the tent zipping it behind him. "Mornin'," Carol said she was standing beside of the fire making breakfast.

Daryl nodded at her he hadn't really said anything much to the woman since the day of Sophia's funeral. To be honest he didn't have much to say to her at all. He still held her responsible as an enabler to Ed's sickness. "Clara, she didn't have a good night." He said after a long pause, "Do you mind just lettin' her sleep?"

Carol nodded, "I'll make sure nobody disturbs her." She promised.

He nodded again before heading towards the house. He knew that Rick, Glenn, and Shane would be there going over what had happened the day before with Hershel and Dale. On top of that he knew that Maggie would have made a fresh pot of coffee and if he was going to make it through the day he'd need to drink the stuff by the gallon. Even better he was actually considering having Hershel set him up with a coffee IV drip and just mainline the shit. "Morning," Hershel said to Daryl.

Daryl nodded at the man as he poured himself a cup. "It's morning alright but I'm sure it's a good one."

"I hear that." Rick said.

Daryl could tell by the tired look in Rick's eyes that his night hadn't been much better. Undoubtedly he had another quarrel with Shane about their prisoners. If it had been left up to Shane they'd have killed the sons of bitches a long time ago. While the former Sheriff's Deputy liked to believe that he did things for the good of the group the truth was the way he thought was far too single minded. Shane's plans of action usually got them through the next day. Like when they were camping outside of Atlanta and he left them almost run out of food before sending a group into the city to scavenge. Rick got a lot of shit for the decisions he made like going back into Atlanta after Merle and the CDC disaster. What they didn't see was that those walkers would have attacked anyway and they probably would have lost the same number of people. They might have almost died at the CDC but they also learned a lot too. They learned that the virus was global and they realized that the only threat out there wasn't just the walkers it was other people. "Rick was just telling me about what happened at the dairy farm." Hershel said, "Said that there were only a handful of people there."

"Somethin' just ain't right about that." Daryl said sitting down with the men at the dining room table. "Somethin' ain't addin' up."

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"Well Tony and Dave, 'member they were talkin' about how they ain't been in the area long. Said that they were lookin' for a place to put down roots at and those people at that farm they'd been there for a while." Daryl said taking a drink of the coffee.

"Maybe they lied." Shane said.

"There's defiantly some lyin' going on. I don't think it was Dave and Tony though. I mean they came in thinkin' they could play nice with us. They didn't have no reason to lie." Daryl said.

Rick studied Daryl for a few minutes thinking about what he was saying. "You think Randall's playing us."

Daryl nodded, "I do."

"Clara thought so too." Maggie said from the door, she'd just come in from doing her morning chores. "She said there was something about Randall that she didn't like. When you saw that guy last night she said it reminded her of the story about the Trojan horse."

"Trojan horse?" Shane asked it was clear that the only Trojan he knew about was that of the latex variety.

"Defiantly not the brains of the operation," Daryl said under his breath then spoke up. "She meant the story of the ancient city of Troy. One of the Trojan princes stole someone else's woman took her home with him. Well the guy got pissed started a war, while the Trojans were in the city walls they were untouchable. The Greeks they were getting pretty sick of campin' out on the beach year after year so one of them got this idea they built a Trojan horse as a gift to the Trojans and made it look like they'd left. Well truth was they there was a whole lot of Greeks hidin' in the horse. The Trojans were dumb fucks and brought the horse into the city and when night fell the raped and pillaged the whole city. Threw babies from the walls I imagine it was a real shit storm." Everyone just kind of set there blinking at Daryl. "What I know things more than just huntin' alright? Damn they even made a fuckin' movie about it."

"Now that the history lesson is over what's this got to do with the two assholes we have locked up?" Shane asked.

"Clara was meaning that Randall might be here to gather information." Rick said then looked at Daryl, "Right?"

"Gather information let his people in if they decide to attack." Daryl nodded.

"That don't make no sense. How would they have known that you fools would bring him back here?" Shane said. "I mean you all had just killed some of their people. For all they knew you'd just leave him there to be a happy meal for those walkers."

"They didn't know." Glenn said speaking up for the first time. "They were probably just hoping."

"So you think that they impaled that kid on a fence maiming him on purpose all on a count of they hoped to get some inside information on us?" Shane shook his head.

"Sounds logical in an illogical way," Dale said. "It's a little barbaric but desperate times."

"There's only one way to be sure." Daryl said.

"Do you want to send Clara in again?" Rick asked.

Daryl shook his head, "I don't want her anywhere near those assholes if I can help it. I think that the time for playin' nice is over."

"You mean to torture them." Dale said it was clear that he disapproved.

Daryl didn't say anything as he walked outside.

* * *

The sun was shining in Clara's eyes as she slowly started to stir. She slowly set up and pushed her messy curls from her face. It was clear that the sun was over head by the way it shined the through the thin nylon walls of the tent casting shadows from the tree that shaded it. As she climbed out of bed she realized something she felt lighter somehow. She was no longer held down by the sins of her father. The lies that he told her, that nobody would believe that she was innocent, were no longer holding her back. Daryl knew the truth and he still wanted her.

Knowing that there was plenty of work that needed to be done she quickly dressed in her favorite pair of ripped jeans and a white thermal shirt with a worn out Avenged Sevenfold concert tee shirt over it. Not in the mood to deal with her trying to untangle her curls she pulled her hair into a messy low bun and grabbed her favorite fatigue style cap. After she pulled her boots on she headed out of her tent. "Afternoon," Lori smiled at Clara and handed her a plate of food.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked sitting down in one of the camp chairs.

"We were under strict orders. Under no certain circumstances were we to wake you up and nobody likes to cross Daryl." Lori explained.

"Oh." Clara said heat rising in her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it." Lori teased, "I dimly recall being up all night with Rick and not able to climb out of bed until noon."

Clara's cheeks flamed more, "It wasn't….that." she said feeling a little awkward talking about the personal goings on of her and Daryl's relationship. "What do you mean you dimly recall?"

"It's just been a long time since Rick and I had all night sex-a-thons." Lori shrugged.

"Why?" Clara asked as she picked at the food on her plate. "I mean you love him right?"

"I do." Lori said looking away, "Sometimes Rick is hard to love. Even before all of….this happened we were having troubles. Rick's always felt the need to be hero he likes to solve the problems of the world you know. He just didn't want to solve the ones at home. The morning he got shot we fought…well I fought anyway. I hurt him really bad you know he hasn't even mentioned anything about it."

"Maybe it's because it doesn't matter anymore." Clara said. "I mean this is all kind of a fresh start for us all. Our old lives don't matter anymore things we did the in past things we should have done but didn't. Everything happens for a reason. The more important question is do you still love him? Cause if you don't love him you need to tell him."

Lori nodded, the person she was in her previous life probably wouldn't recognize the woman she'd become. The Lori from before well to be honest, she was a bitch. To be honest she was embarrassed by it. More than anything the Lori of the past never would have taken the advice from a girl who was roughly ten years younger than herself. "I do love Rick." She said. "I just don't know if he loves me or that he thinks I'm dead weight that he needs to pack around."

"I remember the look on his face the day he showed up at camp and saw you and Carl there. Trust me that's not the way a man looks at a woman when he thinks she's dead weight. It is clear that Rick loves you it's on his face every time he looks at you. What you need to do is go up to the house and take a nice long shower shave your legs. Get Dale and Mama to keep Carl in the RV, light some candles and spend the night working on your marriage."

Lori laughed, "That's not a bad idea."

* * *

Rick and Daryl went down to the barn where they'd taken their most recent forced guest. Even with all the craziness the night before they'd decided that putting him in the shed with Randall was just asking for punishment. More than that, they didn't want Randall to know that they'd caught him. They'd decided to start with him because they thought he might have more information than Randall. After all Randall had been locked in the shed for almost a week and in their world everything could change in a week. "You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked.

Daryl nodded, "I got this." Rick nodded and unlocked the chains on the barn letting Daryl inside.

The truth was Daryl was looking for something to take his anger at Ed Peletier out on and this asshole and the one in the shed were perfect substitutes. He went into the barn and waited until he heard the click of the lock behind him before walking to the stall that the guy was chained up in. He stood there for a few minutes a stoic look on his face as he for the first time got a good look at the man who'd jumped him in the woods. He was Daryl's height maybe a little shorter; his mousy brown hair was a little too long hanging into his face that was covered in a thick beard. His skin was an unhealthy sallow color possibly from lack of proper nutrition in these times it really wasn't all that uncommon. His clothes were filthy and from the sour smell of body odor that radiated from him it was clear that the man hadn't bathed in a while possibly since before the outbreak occurred. It was enough to turn Daryl's stomach. "What's your name?" he bit out.

"What's it matter to you?" he snapped back revealing many rotted teeth.

Daryl raised an eyebrow, "Cause I like to know who I'm beating the shit out of."

"Archie." The man said, "Not that it makes difference."

He set down in front of the man on one of the milking stools. "You're right it don't make any difference. Maybe it's an old world notion but my people believe that ceremonial pleasantries have to be entertained. They have these ideas that we should keep the rules from the old life so we don't forget our humanity." He pulled his hunting knife off of his belt toying with it. "Got some questions for you and you're going to answer them how much you get your ass kicked is up to you."


	23. Chapter 23: Who Decides Who Lives & Dies

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 23: Who Decides Who Lives and Dies?**

Rick was pacing outside of the barn his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't exactly sure how long Daryl had been in the barn. Occasionally he'd hear the sound of fist on face and Archie crying out it in pain begging the man to stop. He knew that there was something going on with the redneck, while he always had walked around like he had a chip on his shoulder waiting for the slightest thing to set him off, things had been different since he'd started spending time with Clara. This morning he'd seemed even more on edge he was brewing for a fight. Things got quiet in the barn then there was a tap on the heavy door. Rick undone the locks and let him out. The man in chain's face was bruised and bleeding as was Daryl's knuckles. "He don't know shit about what they were planning. His only job was to run information that Randall found out from us to their basecamp." Daryl said. "He said Randall gave them the information about this farm though."

"Did he say where that camp was or did he stick to the dairy farm story?" Rick asked.

"The old sawmill it's about ten miles from here." Daryl said.

"Why don't you take a break get some sleep, we'll deal with Randall later." Rick said.

"I'm fine." Daryl said running his hand over his face. Truth was he was anything but fine he was angry and exhausted. "I want these assholes dealt with."

"Yeah me too." Rick agreed. "You want me to handle Randall?"

Daryl shook his head, "No I owe that asshole. He called Clara a bitch. Why don't you go talk to Hershel see what he knows about this mill."

Rick shook his head, "I'll wait until we know more."

"Whatever." Daryl shrugged as they headed towards the shed.

Randall visibly paled when Daryl walked into the shed. It was clear that he wasn't happy to see the man. "How's it goin' Randall?" Daryl asked.

"Oh you know about the same." Randall replied his voice quivering a little.

"You don't look like you're happy to see old friends." Daryl smirked. "Oh speaking of old friends I happened to run into one of yours."

"Oh yeah?" Randall asked.

"Yeah, someone named Archie. I'll tell you he didn't have much good to say about you." Daryl said.

If it was possible Randall became even more pale, "I don't know him." He denied.

"That right?" Daryl asked, "That's funny cause he was hangin' out here by the shed that I saw him. Last night to be exact, he gave us a lot of trouble too. And you know what he told me?"

"Probably not jack shit cause I don't know him." Randall said.

Daryl ignored him as he went on, "He told me that it was your idea to take this farm."

"Why would I do that?" Randall asked. "Hell my people they left me there on that fence."

Daryl was getting tired of the kid's bullshit it was clear that he was lying. He'd do anything to save his own ass and sell his buddy out. He walked over to Randall and grabbed him by the front of his shirt before slamming his fist into the kid's face. "Try again."

"I'm serious!" Randall pleaded.

"So you tellin' me, that you didn't have nothin' to do with your people shootin' at me and my boys back in town? You were just along for the ride?" Daryl asked the tone of his voice making sure that Randall was clear that he didn't believe him.

"Yeah!" Randall said, "Yeah that's what I'm saying. I ain't like those guys I was with. I was just with them because I was alone and can't nobody survive this on their own."

Daryl punched him in the face again before kicking him several times in the ribs, "So you didn't tell them all about this farm?" he asked, "You didn't give them the idea to take it?"

"No, I mean I knew Maggie in school. She didn't know me but I knew her. I wouldn't do nothing to hurt her or her people or you and your people." Randall said. "Them guys they were real rough types. One night we were out huntin' and we came across this man and his two daughters. They were teenagers real cute too. Well they tied the man up made him watch while they-and they didn't even kill them when they were done they just left them there." When he saw the look on Daryl's face he knew that he'd said the wrong thing to the wrong man. "But I didn't touch those girls." Unable to hold his fury back any longer Daryl attacked Randall.

Rick was pacing the small porch that covered the front of the shed when he heard Randall cry out, followed by the sound of a scuffle, and the rattling of chains. He'd been listening to Daryl and the kid; he knew what had set Daryl off. He himself was sickened by it. He knew that there was no way that Randall didn't have any part in the gang rape that happened to those girls. He knew too much information about what had happened. Still he couldn't let his friend kill the kid, not like this. He jerked the door opened and pulled Daryl off of Randall and shoved him outside. He didn't bother checking on the kid he just chained the door shut. "You need a break." Rick said.

Daryl didn't say anything as he paced back and forth trying to get his temper under control. "I let that bastard near Clara." He said after a few minutes.

"He couldn't touch her. She was safe," Rick said.

"I'm gonna to kill him." Daryl said.

"What's really going on?" he asked.

"What'ch you mean?" Daryl asked.

"This ain't like you." Rick said. "Did something happen with Clara?"

"What makes you think it was Clara?" he asked

"It's always a woman." Rick shrugged.

Daryl thought about it for a few minutes, the last time he'd lost his temper and let Clara's deep secrets out it had almost cost him his relationship with her. Still he didn't think he'd be able to hold this one in it was just too much, too big. "Walk with me." He said nodding at Rick to follow him into the woods. The last thing he wanted was this to be overheard by anyone. Once he was sure that they were alone he told him what had happened to Clara, what she'd told him the night before. By the time he'd finished Rick's face matched his own.

"And Carol didn't stop it?" he asked.

Daryl shook his head, "Clara said she didn't know that she'd kept it a secret but I don't know if I believe it though. What kind of mother don't know what's going on in her own house? And Carol, you know what a busy body she can be. I think she suspected but she didn't want to know."

Rick nodded, "And you said that Clara said he'd moved on to Sophia?"

"She didn't tell me much about it but yeah." He said. "I really wish that son of a bitch wasn't dead."

"Me too." Rick said. "Clara she's a good kid she didn't deserve that. Not that anyone does."

"Makes it worse is that I don't even know if she'll let me touch her now. What happened last night it brought back some old fears."

"Give her some time. Maybe let her come to you." Rick shrugged. "Hell I'm not the person to give you advice."

"I'll hold him and you can punch him." Daryl said knowing Rick knew he meant Shane.

"You don't think much of him do you?" Rick asked.

"I think he's a dickless prick bastard." Daryl shrugged.

Clara had been helping her mother sort laundry so it could be done the next day. She was trying to keep her mind off of what was going on that Daryl was in the process of getting in formation out of Randall and Archie. More so the only time she'd seen him all day was from across the yard when he walked out of the barn and went to the shed and again when he went from the shed into the woods with Rick and then came back out before going into the shed. She knew that her mother disproved of what they were doing but if it kept them safe she supported it. Finally Daryl came out of the shed and he and Rick made their way to camp. "Family meeting, we're heading to the house to join up with Hershel." Rick said.

"Is everything okay?" Clara asked Daryl, frowning when she saw his bloodied knuckles.

"Fine." He assured her as he took her hand in his. "We'll talk…after the meetin' okay?" Clara nodded, those were defiantly words that nobody liked to hear.

The all crowded into the living room, to be honest it was far too many people for the small space but they managed to make it work. "We got some new information." Rick said then looked over to Daryl.

"Those assholes have been playin' us from the start." He said. "Randall, he grew up here, he knew Maggie from school knew her father. He knew that Hershel always had a good harvest good livestock too. So they decided to try to make friends with us, they were surprised when they found out that it didn't go over like they planned. So they half assed another idea, they put Randall on that fence and since he's been here he's been feedin' them information about us. How many are in our group what we're packin'. He's been out there for a week just listenin' to what's been goin' on."

"Is that it?" Shane asked.

Rick shook his head, "Not even by a long shot."

"There's between thirty and forty men and they ain't lookin' to make friends." Daryl said. "They're heavily armed and if they roll through here they'll kill our men and our women-" he trailed off when he felt Clara tense beside of him. "They're gonna wish they were."

"So we go to the dairy farm and wipe them out." Shane shrugged.

"Haven't you been listenin' to nothin' we said?" Daryl asked.

"They're not at the dairy farm." Rick said. "They were hoping that we'd go in guns blazing and wipe those people out. They wanted us to kill each other so that they could claim our resources and our women."

"Did you find out where they're really at?" Glenn asked his arm draped around Maggie's shoulder.

Rick looked to Hershel. "Do you know anything about a sawmill in this area?"

Hershel nodded, "It's about a mile or so where you people lost the little girl. It's up on a hill and overlooks the town."

"If we went in to do recon they'd see us coming." Clara said. "It's a smart move on their part."

"So what are we going to do?" Andrea asked, "Wait here for them to attack and pick us all off?"

"No," Rick said, "We're going to work out a plan until we figure something out we're going to have double duty on watch. There will be someone on the RV and someone guarding the shed."

"We're just going to keep babysitting those fuckers?" Shane asked.

"Until we figure something out yes." Rick said in a stern tone daring Shane to defy him.

"That's insane you're going to get us all killed." Shane snapped.

"What would you have us do Shane?" Dale asked. IT had been clear for a long time the older man had a great dislike for Shane. More and more Dale's opinion of the man seemed to drop to an all-time low. "Take them out the barn and hang them? What gives you the right to make that choice?"

Shane shook his head, "It ain't like it was before. Those rules from our old life they don't apply. You think that we should just give them place in the group?"

"That's funny comin' from someone sworn to uphold the law." Daryl smirked at Shane.

"I think that they should be given a chance to live." Dale said. "We could drive them far out and leave them."

"Before you make that decision, Dale, there's somethin' you should know." Daryl said then went on to tell the group about the girls that were raped and left for dead.

"We know this group is aggressive, hell they drew on us first in the bar." Rick said.

"But is killing them the right thing to do?" Glenn asked. "I was there with you all in that bar I remember all too vividly what happened. But I'm still not sure."

Hershel sighed, "I don't care what you do with them I just want them away from my girls."

"I'll not have a part in this and neither will my daughter." Carol said standing up.

Clara raised an eyebrow at her mother, "I'm old enough to speak for myself, mama."

"You can't tell me you agree with this?" she said. "After everything you saw your daddy do?"

Clara was livid at the idea of Carol bringing that up in front of everyone. "It's because of all of those things that 'my daddy' did that that I do agree with this. You might think that it's okay to sit back and let someone be hurt in ways that nobody should ever be hurt but it's not who I am. If you think about it, mama, you were the one who taught me that."

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Carol snapped. "I am your mother."

"Yes, you are and I love you mama but I don't think you're right." Clara said.

Daryl squeezed her hand gently, he was proud of her. Proud that she stood up to her mother who'd set back and let her be abused. "Here's another thought something that's a little more of a concern right now than those assholes tied up out there. It's almost October and we're still sleepin' on the ground."

Hershel nodded, "Me and Maggie's been talkin' about that. We should have made room in the house for you all a long time ago."

"Thank you Hershel that's kind." Lori said.

"Are you sure that it won't be too crowded?" Rick asked.

"We'll make it work this is a big house. It was made to be filled with people." Maggie said. "On top of that we'll be moving the cattle in closer to the house. It will be ringing the dinner bell to the walkers."

Rick nodded, "We'll be needing to go on a supply run soon. Maybe in one of the bigger towns we need supplies to last us through the winter and we gotta be getting low on mutations."

"Maybe go back to South Atlanta?" Glenn asked.

Rick shook his head, "No if I never see Atlanta again it would be too soon."

"I might have an idea." Clara said. "We need a lot of stuff right?"

Rick nodded, "Clothes for the winter, blankets, food, about everything you could think of."

"We're fifteen or so miles south of Jonesboro right?" she asked looking at Hershel and Maggie who nodded in agreement. "We're at the halfway point of where I went to school at. The town is bigger than the on here but it had several strip malls not to mention the university is right there. When I left most of the town was evacuated and it's not on a major highway."

Daryl looked at Clara, "You have no idea how attracted I am to you right now."


	24. Chapter 24: Invincible

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 24: Invincible**

It was twilight as Clara and Daryl left the house, all throughout dinner there was much discussion about what might be a viable option for handling the Randall/Archie situation. Though many threw ideas around a set course hadn't been decided on. None of them had been in this situation before, in their old lives there were set rules and due process, now they lived in a world where none of that mattered. To many it was like it hadn't even existed before. It was a much scarier place that they now lived in. "You ain't said much since dinner." Daryl said his arm wrapped around Clara's shoulder as they headed towards the tent.

"I sorry." She said looking up at him. "A lot on my mind I guess."

He nodded, "We all do." He agreed as he stirred her towards the tent.

"It's still early." She said looking up at him. "Do you think we could go for a walk?"

He nodded, it hadn't really accrued him that more often than not lately they'd been spending all of their time in the tent. Not that he was complaining but getting out of the tent did seem like a good idea. In his old live he hadn't really been much for dating. Still he knew if he would have met her then he would have taken her places the movies, dinner, whatever it was girls liked to do. "Where is it you're wantin' to go?"

She shrugged, "Some place alone."

"We don't need to get too far away, it ain't safe right now." He reminded her.

"Is the swimming hole too far away?" she asked. She hadn't been up there since the day Sophia had died and she ran into Carol there.

"Don't see why not." He said.

"So are we going to have that conversation?" she asked, "Or do I need to keep freaking out in silence?"

He nodded, "Last night made me start thinkin' a lot." He said.

Clara frowned her eyes filling with tears. "Is this where you say something along the lines of, 'It was great while it lasted girl, maybe we'll do it again sometime'?" she asked.

He stopped and looked down at her, "Where the shit would you get a stupid fool idea like that?"

"Usually when someone says 'we need to talk' the news isn't good." She said.

"The only way this is endin' is if you decide that you don't want me no more. Then I'll do everything in my power to change your mind." He said pulling her into his arms and rested his forehead against hers. "I ain't never felt for nobody the way you make me feel. When all this shit started I tried so fuckin' hard to keep from lettin' anyone get to close because they either fuck you or the die. The way you look at me with those big sad blue eyes of your and I melt."

Clara slid her arms around his neck closing the space between their bodies, "Daryl…" she said leaning up to kiss him softly.

"Let me get this out okay?" he asked his lips against hers. "I never had anyone tell me they loved me before, or look at me the way you do, or need me. When Rick has me goin' out off of the farm for shit all I can think is that I just want to get back to you. When we were in that bar and there were bullets flying at us I was scared to death. I was scared of never seein' your face again, never feelin' you in my arms. I ain't never wanted this before you make me want things that I ain't never wanted. I can't figure out why you picked me I'm just a piece of shit redneck."

Clara pinched his side hard causing him to yelp in pain, "Don't you *ever-ever* call yourself a piece of shit again Daryl Dixon."

"Alright alright…" he couldn't help but grin at her. "I just want you to know that I feel the same you know. I don't know how you managed to get to me girl but you did. I will do everything in my power to keep you with me."

"I'm not going anywhere Daryl, I love you." She said leaning up to kiss him softly. This time he didn't make any move to stop her. He sank his hand in her long hair fisting it as he swept his tongue into her mouth making her moan softly into his lips.

Slowly he pulled back and looked down at her, "I want you Clara." He said cupping her cheek in his hand, "I want to take care of you, to make sure that everything is perfect for you, even if the world is fucked up. I want a life with you. I want things that I ain't never wanted before-"

"I want that too." She said looking up at him as she started to unbutton his flannel shirt.

He covered her hands with one of his, "Here?" he asked looking down at her.

"Here." She said as she finished working the buttons and pushed his shirt over his shoulders.

He wrapped her in his arms crushing her against him as he sank down into the tall grass with her where he knew that they wouldn't be seen from a distance. He pulled her shirts over her head and looked and spread them out before lying her down on the ground. "After last night I was half scared you wouldn't never let me touch you again." He said running his hand over the delicate curve of her hip.

Clara gave him a soft smile, "That's something you don't ever have to worry about. I'll always want you like this." She ran her hands up his back as she cradle him between her soft thighs.

"That's good." He said trailing kisses over the tops of her soft breasts before taking one of her nipples into his mouth teasing it with his tongue as he cupped the other in his hand squeezing it gently. Clara gasped in pleasure as he wiggled under him. She ran her hand down his back and over his ass squeezing it causing him to buck his hips against her pressing his throbbing cock against her. She arched her back and moaned softly.

"Nuh huh." Daryl said rolling her over onto her stomach. His hand was still squeezing her breast teasing her already hard nipple. He pushed her hair over her shoulder and flicked his tongue over the back of her neck before sucking on her pulse. He pulled her up on her hands and knees and undone her jeans pushing them over her hips as he trailed nips and kisses down her spine.

"Daryl." Clara sobbed as he thrust his fingers into her from behind.

"Do you like that?" he asked his voice husky from arousal.

"Yes." She sobbed pressing back against his hand wanting more.

"Good." He said fucking her slowly with his fingers. He wanted to hear her scream his name in pleasure before he took her.

Clara loved the way Daryl was touching her, she loved how demanding his touches were. The times that they'd made love before it had been sweet and tender. This was different, this was about need, about claiming each other. It was wild and out of control and she knew that she'd never get enough of it. It wasn't long before she came screaming his name. If it wasn't for the fact that Daryl was holding her up she probably would have collapsed face first in the dirt. She didn't have a chance to come down from her orgasm before he was behind slamming into her from behind. "Daryl!" she screamed.

"Don't let me hurt you." He groaned his hands gripping her hips as he pulled out and done it again. He trailed kisses over her shoulder he loved the way it made her tremble, the way he made her tremble. He loved how he was the only man to be with her like this that she was his completely.

"You're not, oh God you're not." She sobbed as she rocked back against him. She turned her head looking back at him while he took her, she was pretty sure that she'd never see anything more erotic than the way he was with her. Daryl groaned when he saw the lust in her eyes, he leaned over her pressing his chest to her back. He moved his hand from her hip to her hair and tugged her back and kissed her hungrily. Every time he slammed into her hot body his tongue thrust into her mouth mimicking how he was claiming her body. It wasn't long before she broke the kiss screaming in pleasure as her core milked him of his.

Once he was spent he collapsed on top of her pressing her soft body against the ground. He knew that this had to be uncomfortable for her but he was so completely spent that he could seem to move. "Damn girl." He groaned nipping her ear gently.

Clara's body was still tingling from her last orgasm and the slight brush of his hands or lips against her made her gasp. "I agree that was amazing." She said closing her eyes.

He ran his hand up her side, "Hey now we can't sleep out here." He nuzzled her, "Let's get you back to our bed."

"Don't wanna." She grinned.

"I'd rather not have my ass bit tonight." He teased.

"You're right it's too fine of an ass to get a hunk bit out of it." She teased.

Daryl rolled off of her and quickly righted his clothes before helping her with hers. "Come on baby.' He said helping her stand.

Clara giggled when her knees went weak on her. "You made my legs not work."

He grinned smugly, "Oops?"

"Oops's ass." She laughed.

"Come on I ain't gonna let you fall." He promised as he wrapped his arm around her and lead her towards the farm.

The fact that her legs didn't work was completely forgotten when a blood curtailing scream pierced the night. The looked at each other before they both set off in a dead run towards the house.

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AN: This chapter was inspired by the song Invincible by Crossfade you can find the video on my profile.


	25. Chapter 25: How Could This Happen To Me?

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

To GatorGirl99: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much, it's always fun to make people speechless. To BeingLolaStar: I understand where you're coming from and while it wasn't ideal everything happens for a reason. To Dalonega Noquisi: Indeed it is. To CaitlynCollision (My real life heterosexual life mate/writing partner): If you will stop talking to me then I can get the next chapter finished ;). Rhage knows that I love him.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

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**Chapter 25: How Could This Happen To Me?**

Clara and Daryl ran as fast as they could towards the screams. They had no idea what was going on and they were terrified of what this could mean. It seemed like it took forever to get out of the small wooded area near the house and down to the barn. Neither was prepared for what they saw, Carol was on the ground her stomach ripped open. She was trying to hold the walker that was over top of her snapping at her with its teeth at bay. Without a second thought Daryl lifted his crossbow and shot the walker. Clara ran over to her mother and shoved the walker off of her. "Mama just hold on we're going to get you help okay?" she sobbed. Carol tried to speak to her daughter but she was in too much pain to actually form words. Weakly she lifted her hand to her daughters face touching it with one of her bloody hands before it dropped to her side.

Clara looked up at the rest of the group who'd also come running at the sound of Carols screams. They were all in equal shock. "GET HERSHEL!" she screamed at them. "We have to get her moved we have to help her."

Daryl's heart was breaking as he watched Clara cling to her dying mother. He could tell that there would be anything Hershel could do for the woman after all she'd been nearly ripped in half by the walker. Still he knew that nothing he said would convince her of this. He was slightly relieved when Hershel ran up and kneeled down beside of Carol, the grim look on his face matched that of everyone else.

"Do we move her?" Rick asked running his hand over his beard.

Hershel shook his head, "She would not live through the trip."

"What if we get your supplies?" Clara asked looking up at him her face streaked with tears, dirt, and blood. "In war times they'd do amputation on the field."

"Clara, I truly am sorry I truly am." He said laying his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Her wounds are too extensive."

Clara doubled over her mother as heart wrenching sobs poured from her. "I love you mama." She whispered as she kissed the woman's forehead.

"We need to do something, she's suffering." Lori cried as she looked at Hershel, "Is there any more of those pain killers?"

"It wouldn't do her any good she's too far gone." He said.

Clara looked up at Daryl, "You still owe me one arrow." She said softly.

Daryl raised his crossbow his hands shaking a little as he looked down at her. Her blue eyes locked with his, he felt something unspoken go between them as Carol nodded at him. He pulled the trigger on the crossbow shooting her in the heart and killing her instantly. He knew that there would be issue without he'd killed Carol after all they had no idea if she'd come back as a walker. Still he had his reasons, Clara had saw the mutilated corpse of her father after the walkers ate him and she'd watched as her sister's brains had been splattered all over the ground in front of the barn. He'd save her that pain if he could help it. He laid the crossbow down and kneeled down behind her gently stroking her back as she cried for her mother.

Daryl stayed with Clara while she was with her mother, he knew that she needed time, time to say good bye time, time to cry herself out. He knew that he'd never understand the pain that she was going through, after all his parents had been alcoholic pieces of shit they'd never cared about him. Carol might have had some fucked up views, like how she let her husband hurt her and their girls, but he knew that she loved Clara and Sophia. Once her tears stopped he cradled her in his arms and carried her to the house. "Do you want us to clean her up?" Lori asked.

He started to snap at the woman but he knew that she cared for Clara the way an older sister would but she was his he needed to do this, "No I got her." He said then started towards the bathroom before pausing, "If you could get her some clothes that would be alright." Then he thought about it for a second. "Um…her favorite pajamas are those blue flannels and that white shirt with the writing on it." With what she was going through he figured that might help comfort her.

Lori nodded, "I'll get them." She patted Daryl's shoulder before turning to walk away.

He looked at the woman for a minute as she headed towards the stairs, "Hey Lori?" he called.

"Yeah Daryl?" she turned to look at him.

"Thanks." He said before taking Clara into the bathroom and closing the door.

Lori stood there for a few seconds not sure what to say. She couldn't remember if Daryl had ever said a nice word to her before. There was one thing that was definite, he was changing, or maybe it wasn't that he was changing. Maybe this was the real Daryl Dixon and what they'd seen in the early days of camp was a projection of what Merle expected Daryl to be, either way she was starting to warm to the surly redneck.

Clara didn't recognize herself as Daryl carried her into the bathroom. Her face was coved in blood and dirt the only clean places were from the tears that had streaked down her cheeks. "I'm okay." She said her voice raw and sounded foreign.

Daryl nodded as leaned over the tub and turned the hot water on, "I thought you'd like to get clean." He said.

She nodded, "Yeah." She agreed.

Daryl kneeled down in front of her and undone her boots and slid them off of her feet before helping her with the rest of her clothes. He was worried about her, she had that faraway look that Beth had before she collapsed and he was terrified that Clara would do the same. "Do you need any help?" he asked.

She shook her head as she climbed into the shower, "I'm okay." She said again as she let the water pour over her.

Daryl paced the small length of the bathroom floor and when there was a soft knock on the door he opened it to see Lori there with a stack of clothes, "I figured you'd probably want a shower too so I grabbed your things."

He nodded as he took the fresh clothes from her, "Thank you." He said again before closing the door. He frowned when he heard soft sobs coming from the shower. Without a second thought he kicked his boots off and climbed in with her fully clothed.

"I'm all alone." Clara looked up at him and crumpled against him sobbing hard.

Daryl wrapped his arms around her holding her against him, "You ain't alone." He assured her, "You got the group and you got me. Ain't gonna leave you." He promised trailing kisses over the side of her face.

"It was on the farm. It was 30 yards from where we sleep." She sobbed her hands fisted in the back of his shirt.

"Shhhh…" he said stroking her hair. "It's gone and T-Dog, Shane, Rick, and Andrea are doing a sweep of the grounds make sure there ain't no more." He promised. "I ain't gonna let them get you. Let's get you cleaned up and into bed okay?"

Clara looked up at him and nodded, "Alright."

Daryl picked up a bottle of shampoo and poured way too much into his hands before massaging it through her hair. "You might wanna keep your eyes closed I ain't good at this shit." He said.

"Okay." Clara smiled a little at his efforts.

A while later once the shampoo was rinsed from her hair and they both smelled like some kind of country flower from this bottle of girly shit that Maggie had in the bathroom, Daryl got them both dried off and dressed. They were starting to head outside when they were stopped by Hershel, "Why don't you and Clara take that spare bedroom that you stayed in while you were laid up?" he asked. It was clear that the older gentleman was worried about Clara.

Daryl nodded, "Thank you."

"I put Rick, Lori, and Carl in the other. The rest of your people are staying in the front parlor and dining room we'll get the arrangements worked out tomorrow." He said. "It would be on my conscience if something happened again tonight. I've come to think of you lot as family," he looked at Clara, "Carol was a good woman and she'll be missed. In the short time that I've known her she's become a dear-dear friend."

Clara nodded, "She thought very highly of you as well." She wiped her eyes with her fingertips. If truth be told, Clara was pretty sure that her mother had feelings for the older gentleman. She wondered if Hershel knew, if he shared them and if he did, did Carol ever know.

Hershel hugged Clara, "She's better off not in the pain of this world." Clara just nodded; she wouldn't insult the man and his beliefs. She didn't believe in doing that and found it disgusting when people did. If he wanted to believe that her mother was now on some higher plane with his family for company she'd believe him. He patted Daryl's arm comfortingly, "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you." He said again before leading Clara to the room.


	26. Chapter 26: While You Were Sleeping

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

To GatorGirl99: Glad that I'm keeping you guessing. I sacrificed Carol so that Dale could live. Or at least live a little longer. I have many reasons for doing it; the main one though is that Carol is kind of a burden to the group in a lot of ways. Not to mention that at the end of S02 she was trying to stir up a little trouble. I think that if she was let to live, in this story, she'd end up causing a rift between Daryl and Clara and they have enough to overcome without her causing trouble. To motherofdragons93: You bitch, no just kidding. I've said it before I think Carol gets sainted a lot and she's far from perfect. Sometimes I really want to just want to strangle her. I think my favorite thing she did was put Lori in her place about Carl in _Judge, Jury, and Executioner_. To Dalonega Noquisi: Maybe they will and maybe they'll surprise us with her. I'm really looking forward to see what becomes of her and in S03 specially since the Comic Con Trailer shows her with a very big gun. To Emberka-2012 and JavaNut: I promise I'll make it up to you. To CaitlynCollision: 3.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

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**Chapter 26: While You Were Sleeping**

Daryl was lying on his side facing Clara, watching her while she slept. He was beyond exhausted but he couldn't sleep, not yet. His thoughts were plagued by the course of previous day's events. It was hard to believe that everything had happened in a few short hours. It seemed more like this day had lasted forever, that there was no time stretching before it or after it. There was an illusion that night that had been shattered, since they arrived at the farm they'd believed they were safe. It was like there was an invisible hedge surrounding the farm that kept away everything bad. They'd been living in a sunny haze that nothing could touch them while they were inside the boarders of this place. The only walkers that had been inside the farm's grounds had been dealt with on their terms. The walker that killed Carol destroyed that false sense of security they'd developed. Since coming to the farm they'd all be careless, he'd been careless. He'd let his guard down with Clara, it could have just as easily been them that was attacked by that walker. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door; Daryl stood up and opened the door. He was surprised to see Rick standing there, "How is she?" he asked.

Daryl motioned him to go outside and followed him closing the door behind him. "Restin', Hershel gave her a mild sedative." He said. "I think he's half afraid she'll collapse like Beth did. She's lost everybody so close together."

"Not everyone." Rick pointed out, like most of their group, he'd come to know these people. The thought of them as family and they were just as important to him as the family he'd had before the world had gone to shit. They'd fought side by side, they'd lost people together, and they all lived to see another day. They might have lost Carol that night but nobody was going to give up, he wouldn't let them.

"Everyone who was part of her life before all this shit." He said raking his hand through his hair. "That walker and those assholes at the mill, it's made me do a lot of thinkin'."

"Me too." Rick said. "I want them off of the farm as soon as we can manage it. Tomorrow's bust, we have to take care of Carol, check fences, and move everyone inside. Maybe the day after when I go I want you to ride out with me. After that we'll deal with the rest up at the mill."

Daryl nodded he didn't give a definitive answer. He hated the thought of leaving Clara alone especially right now after she'd just lost her mother, "So we're going to take them out somewhere and dump them?"

"I've given it a lot of thought." Rick said. "Killing those men in town that was different, it was kill or be killed. I can't consciously take them out and execute them. I have my boy to think of, Carl's become way too obsessed with those two what we're going to do with them. I just want them gone."

Daryl nodded he too had noticed the boy becoming more and more withdrawn. "Have you given any thought to the farm? This place ain't safe like we thought it was."

"With winter coming I'm not sure if we have a choice but to say here. We'll board up windows secure the fences." Rick said, he silently added that he wasn't sure how he felt about moving Lori away from the farm especially with her pregnant. She might just be in the early stages but he still wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. He wanted her to have the security of a home to have their child in.

"I think it might not be a bad idea for us to find somethin' a little more permanent." Daryl said.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked studying Daryl. Shane might sale the redneck short but he sure as hell didn't.

"Not really sure." He said. "We get a herd of walkers out here and they'll rip this place apart trying to get to us. You got your family to look after and I got Clara. I ain't gonna let her get hurt."

Rick nodded, "We need to work out the details of this supply run." He said. "Once we get those details worked out we'll try to find a place that we can secure. It might take some time to convince Hershel to leave the farm though."

"I think we should wait maybe until we have an idea of what we're lookin' for first." Daryl shrugged then changed the subject. "You might want to keep an eye on Shane. He ain't done nothin' yet, but I don't trust him."

"Neither does Lori and Dale." He didn't need to mention Hershel or Maggie in that small list everyone was clear on how the Greene family felt about Shane. Rick ran his hand over his face. "They think that he killed Otis." Daryl didn't say anything he just raised an eyebrow at the man. "And I see that they're not alone in thinking that."

Daryl sighed, "It's just that his story never added up. He said that Otis told him to go ahead and that he'd cover him. He showed back up here with a deadman's gun. How's Otis goin' to cover him with no gun?"

Rick nodded, "I didn't really think much about it at the time I was just so relieved that he was back with the equipment we needed for Carl."

"Ain't your fault, Shane's responsible for his own actions." He said. "He's barely stable on his good days. Look how he handled the barn walkers. I agree they needed to be taken care of but there were better ways of handlin' it."

"It almost killed Beth and that blood would have been on his hands." Rick agreed.

"Not to be a prick but I really don't think it matters much to Shane if he gets his hands bloody." Daryl said he silently wondered if Shane actually enjoyed getting blood on his hands. He turned back to the room when he heard Clara's soft whimpers inside. He knew that she was having another bad dream; she'd been plagued with them all night. "You just watch your back around him he's a stone's throw from stickin' a fuckin' knife in it. Watch him around Lori too I don't like the way he looks at her."

Rick nodded, he too had noticed his best friend looking a little too often and a little too knowingly at his wife. "I'll keep that in mind." He said before ducking back into his own room.

Daryl went into the bedroom and crawled into bed with Clara. He pulled her tightly into his arms and gently stroked her back, "Shhhh….it's just a dream." He whispered in her ear trying to calm her without waking her. "I'm ain't goin' to let anything happen to you. I just found you and I ain't givin' you up anytime soon. I love you too much to let you go."

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AN: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, I intended it to be longer but as I read over it I felt like it was perfect the way it was.


	27. Chapter 27: Closure

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

To motherofdragons93: I actually see where Lori and Carol are coming from in the since that they are trying to _live_ in the zombie apocalypse rather than just _survive_ it. Still I agree with you 100 percent about picking something up and defending themselves. Both of them are really dead weight, I can honestly say that I am a little disappointed that after Carol bashed Ed's skull in season 1 that she really became this weak character in season 2. To GatorGirl99: A 'Clara' would be awesome for Daryl. There are things that I do like between Daryl and Carol in the show I really think that there's something sweet about them and to be honest as far as the show goes I do root for them as well. I also accept 'victimhood' as a word and apparently spellcheck on Microsoft Word does as well. I often make words up that are much stranger than that one. As for how I crank out chapters so fast, I write every day and pretty much have since I was 16, I'll be 29 (I think sometimes I lose track and forget how old I am) in September. With that in mind I've written some stuff that I'm highly ashamed of and just thinking about it I'm like what the fuck am I thinking. Usually when I post new chapters they're fresh off of the press. I have ideas of where this is going there are things that I defiantly know will happen but to be honest I write to see what happens next. To CaitlynCollision: It's simple _Accio Crossbow. _To Leyshla Gisel: When I write fanfic and I save a character that originally died I always feel honor bond to kill someone else in their place. Which in this case the decision was based on more than just that, I think that she would have eventually caused a rift between Clara and Daryl among other things that I can't tell you about right now. When those things happen I'll be sure to explain. To JTellersOldLady: Glad that you found the story and that you're enjoying it. Finally To: Daryl and Naomi xxx, , Dalonega Noquisi, and Emberka-2012: Thank you all so much for your reviews.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

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**Chapter 27: Closure**

Clara took a deep breath as she rolled over and sat up in the bed, she pushed her hair from her face and looked towards the windows where golden morning light spilled through them. She'd been half afraid when she woke up. Afraid that it would be the same never ended day. While there had been moments, stolen between her and Daryl out by the swimming hole, the day as a whole had been terrible. It seemed like the happiness in this new world was only allowed to happen if it was followed by grief. For a few minutes of unbridled passion the toll was the loss of her mother. Deep down Clara didn't really believe that, it was the grief talking. Her attention was drawn to the bedroom door; outside there was the shuffle of feet the clamber of something hitting the hardwood floor, and a soft curse. A few seconds later Daryl waked in with a tray of steaming food in one hand and small silver vase with wild flowers in the other. The way they were jumbled it was clear that the vase is what fell in the hall. "Figured you'd still be asleep." He said sitting the tray down on the nightstand. He leaned over and kissed her softly before adjusting the pillows for her.

"I just woke up." She said leaning back against the head board. She wondered what had gotten into Daryl, while he'd always been affectionate this raised things to a whole new level, not to mention how he'd been with her all through the night. "Did you sleep any?" she asked.

"I nodded off." He assured her as he fixed her tray and placed it on her lap and set down with her on the bed. "You need to eat something. You feel better. It ain't much, some grits and toast and fried eggs. I managed to save some of the bacon from Glenn."

She started to protest, she'd never been a fan of grits but by the look on Daryl's face she knew that he wasn't going to let it slide. "Thank you." She said picking her fork up.

"You should have seen that Chinaman going after that bacon. You'd have thought it was fried up strips of cat."

Clara couldn't help but laugh at the slightly racist remark; more often than not it only encouraged him more. Besides she'd learned a long time ago he only did it to push Glenn's buttons. "You'd think after all this time you'd have learned that his family was from Korea." She teased.

He shrugged, "Eh it's all the same."

"You're terrible, Daryl." She laughed again.

Daryl was happy to see her laughing. He'd been so afraid that with everything that had happened, the way she cried so brokenly the night before when she told him that she had nobody left, that he'd never hear it again. He watched she picked at her food he knew that she wasn't eating nearly as much as she should and after a while he started to prod her to eat more. "Rick, T-Dog, and Dale are burying her." He said softly. He waited until she was finished eating and the tray of dirty dishes on the beside time before telling her.

Clara pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, "Okay." She said softly.

"We don't have to do nothin' today." He assured her, "If you ain't up for it."

"No we need to do it; I need her to be laid to rest properly. I need to get out of here for a while, I can't lay up here in this room; it will only make me feel worse." She said. Though her voice was thick with emotion, no tears fell on her cheeks. She'd cried herself out the night before and there was nothing left.

Daryl nodded, if there was one thing he admired about Clara it was her strength. With everything she'd been through she hadn't let anything keep her down. He knew that she grieved the loss of her sister and mother but she didn't let it overcome her. He stood up, walked over to his duffle bag, and pulled out his spare hunting knife. "You keep this with you all the time and don't hesitate to use it if you need to." He said handing her the knife. "Rick wants to get this fucktards out of here as soon as we can manage but we got more pressing things to do first."

"I will." She promised as she took the knife from him. It would be the first time she was to carry a weapon since the day they'd hunted for Sophia together.

"We'll find you a bow when we go on that supplies trip," He promised her, "Something lightweight easier for you to handle."

She climbed out of bed and dug through her suitcase finding a pair of jeans and her blue flannel shirt. "I don't think we're going to be safe here much longer." She said.

Daryl's eyes raked over slowly as he watched her dress, "Me neither, Rick agrees. Once we get things settled here and that supply run over with we're going to start trying to find something permanent."

"Do you think that's possible now?" she asked as she attempted to smooth her hair into an over the shoulder braid. Because her hair was wet when Daryl put her to bed it was crazy and all over the place and some of the curls refused to stay in place.

He walked up behind her and pulled the hair tie from the end of her hair and unbraided it. He ran his fingers through it causing her to close her eyes and moan softly, "Let it alone." He said. "It's better like this."

She looked up at his reflection in the vanity mirror. "It's all over."

"It's pretty." He said a little awkwardly.

"Fine," She said letting him have his way.

It was close to noon when they all gathered around the tree, that small plot of land had become their burying ground. She was pleased to see that Rick had chosen the spot nearest to Sophia to lay Carol to rest in. It's the way she would have wanted things if she would have had a say. As she stood there trying to concentrate on the things that everyone was saying about her mother she kept thinking about to another funeral. She could remember being 10 years old and going to her Grandpa Tom (Ed's father)'s funeral. There was nothing real about it there were people who came in and said all these nice things. Her grandfather much like her father had been disappointed by having granddaughters rather than grandsons. He never had much time for her or Sophia. When he would come to stay with them there were distinct things that Clara remembered one of them was that he always smelled like peppermint from the Schnapps he was so fond of, he commandeered the living room TV and watched CNN for hours yelling at the TV for the terrible things going on in the world, and he complained. He complained that the guest room also housed Carols' sewing machine, he complained that the house was too small, he complained that the chicken was too dry, and that Carol was too doughty. At ten years old Clara didn't understand why these people were lying and saying her grandfather was a wonderful man when he wasn't. What she didn't understand at the time was that when you died the bad things you did in your life were forgotten. They didn't matter anymore.

Finally it was her turn to say something taking a deep breath she began to speak, "You all didn't know my mama before all of this started. You didn't know that her life's ambition was to be a wife and a mother; it's all she ever wanted in her life. I think she had this idea that she wanted to be June Cleaver the perfect wife to the perfect husband but she got stuck with Ed and he broke her in more ways than you'll ever be able to understand. She wasn't a perfect mom but she was the best that she could be with him for a husband. She did a lot of things wrong but she did a lot of things right too. More than anything I wish that I had to tell her that, to tell her that I was proud to have her as a mom and that I learned a lot from her besides the things that I said to her at that meeting last night."

* * *

AN: I hadn't intended to write Carol's funeral, I'd planned on skipping around it and moving on to them getting ready to go on the supply run and take care of Archie/Randall but I think the characters needed the closure. So hopefully the next chapter will have more action in it.


	28. Chapter 28: Game Plans

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

To Dalonega Noquisi: I like to believe that Clara does adapt well, Carol's death was much more of a shock to her than what Sophia's was and I think that they all were able to deal with it better. To Leyshla Gisel: I'm glad you liked it; it's one of those things that came out of left field. Everything that she said in that speech really came from somewhere deep inside of her. She does hate the fact that the last interaction she had with her mother was the two of them speaking to each other in anger. To GatorGirl99: I've always treated the characters that I write like people. This will probably make me sound completely insane but here goes. I've learned that if you try to direct them in one way when in your head they're demanding to go another it will come back to bite you on your ass. Because I am really looking forward to some of the ideas that I have semi worked out for the future chapters I had wanted to move up in time but every time I tried to write it, I couldn't make it work. To CaitlynCollision: Suck up. To : I have been doing some bow research and I have picked out the bow that Clara will be using…you'll just have to wait and see like everyone else but it's pretty badass.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 28: Game Plans**

It seemed like during the first night everyone was staying under the roof of the farm house the temperature outside dropped. The long summer late summer days were starting to turn into the cool days of early fall. The leaves on the trees were starting to change colors painting the world around them with vivid tones of orange and red. Clara had thought that the farm during the late days of summer had been beautiful, with its vibrant greens. It was nothing compared to how it looked now with the grounds blanketed in fallen leaves. It was times like this that she really missed her sister, by now Sophia would have called her a million times while she was away at school and they would talk about Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating. She would come in the weekend before Halloween and they would carve pumpkins for the porch. Once they were done she and Sophia would go shopping for the perfect costume. It caused a sharp pain in her chest when she realized that she would never again get those crazy phone calls where her sister would talk 90 miles a minute about costumes and trick-or-treating again. She knew that if the zombie apocalypse hadn't happened this probably would have been the last year that she would have had that erratic phone call. Sophia would have turned 13 and it seemed like when you hit that age you were forced to grow up.

Maggie walked up behind Clara, who had been standing on the front porch staring off into space. "Clara?" she asked.

"Sorry I was just thinking." Clara said wiping tears from her eyes on the back of her hand. Since her mother's death, it seemed like the grief of the people they'd lost was pulled from the back of her mind to the fore front and she was finally made to deal with it.

"Are you sure that you're up for this?" Maggie asked. "Nobody would hold it against you if you didn't feel up to it."

"I'm fine," she assured her friend.

They walked into the house where everyone was sitting around the table. The last few days had been busy; they'd managed to get everyone moved into the house and the sleeping arrangements situated. They decided to tackle the more important issues, like dealing with Randall and Archie, fortifying the farm, and the supply run. "You alright?" Daryl asked when he saw Clara; he could tell that she'd been crying again.

"I'm fine." She assured him.

He nodded his head but didn't say anything; he knew that this death had been hard for her. Through the day she was so strong. If you didn't know her you'd never know how much heartache she'd been through in just a few short weeks. He was with her at night; he was the one who held her when she woke up from the nightmares. He wished more than anything that he could take this pain from her, that he could make it all go away. He knew that she hadn't really dealt with Sophia's death either. He wondered if they ever would learn to deal with death, would they be come callus to it? He hoped not, life was too precious. "So what can you tell us about this town?" Rick asked Clara once everyone was around the table.

"It's bigger than the town here but it's not too big." She said. "It probably wouldn't have been much if it wasn't for the university being there."

"What was the shopping like?" Rick asked causing Shane to scoff.

"The shopping? Seriously?" He asked.

"Well it does make kind of sense to ask." Rick said looking at his friend.

"I still can't believe that you're really planning on going through with this." Shane said, "Last time we did a big supply run we ended up attacked by walkers and loosing most of our people. It was a bad plan then it's a worse plan now. We were close enough to Atlanta then that we could see the fucking skyline."

"The reason that plan went to shit was because of your piss poor leadership." Daryl pointed out. "It was your call to send Merle along with them."

"He does kind of have a point, Shane." Andrea said who was sitting beside of the man. She knew that siding against him would cost her latter on that night with him. Still she had strongly disagreed with Shane about sending Merle for back up.

"This is different it's not like Atlanta." Rick said. "That city was over run."

"We have no idea if this town has been over run or if it's been looted to death." Shane said.

"Would you just shut the fuck up?" Daryl snapped at the former Deputy Sheriff. "Jesus Christ! I am so sick of you and your shit. If this plan would have been your idea you would have wanted us to back it no matter how bad it was. Here are the facts Shane, if we don't find a town to raid for supplies we're as a good as dead. We're not five miles outside of Atlanta trying to survive fist to mouth like we were a few months ago. We're tryin' to live in this shit, and if we want to keep on livin' that means we're goin' to have to branch out a little. We're almost out of supplies, we need clothes for winter, Lori's gonna need shit for that baby. We need medicine, we need more weapons, and we need ammo. Unless you can pull that shit out of your ass then set down. We'll take this back to nursery school, if you don't have anythin' nice to say or if you don't have any useful input then don't fuckin' say anything at all. We don't have time to deal with your issues we have real grown up problems to deal with, like keeping your dumb ass from starvin' this winter."

Hershel had an amused twinkle in his eyes, "Could not have said it better myself."

Shane set down in his chair; he knew that something had happened, a shift in power. He no longer had Rick's ear to himself. He wasn't exactly sure when his friend had lost faith in him but since the night they'd brought Randall home things had been different. More often than not he wondered exactly what had happened in that bar. Pissed off beyond belief, Shane stood up and stormed outside slamming the door hard enough it made the pictures on the wall vibrate.

Rick turned his attention back to Clara, "Can you give us an idea of what's in this town?"

She nodded, "Well there's the university, there's a strip mall that has a few clothing stores, a Gamestop, a sporting goods store, and a Wal-mart." She said. "The university is the center of the town so it might be smart to set up a home base there. It would be easily secured and there might be things that we could use there. They had a small medical program there and there is a clinic on the campus too."

Glenn who'd been taking in everything that she'd been saying finally spoke, "Do you think you can help me draw out a layout of this town?" he asked Clara.

"I might be able to do one better. Well at least as far as the college is concerned." She went upstairs. She came back down a few minutes later with a small slightly worn spiral bound book. She flipped it to the back page and there was a layout of the campus. "Will this help?" she asked laying it in front of him.

He gave her a slightly confused look, "Why did you keep this?"

She laughed, "Well it wasn't intentional it was shoved in the bottom of my back pack the first week of class and has been there since. I kind of forgot about it until I was unpacking my clothes and stuff and found it."

"This will defiantly help." He said.

For the next several hours Glenn and Clara worked on a detailed layout of how the town was laid out. They wanted to have a cohesive plan for what they were going into where they would spend the night if the situation came to that. One thing in their favor was the fact that there wasn't a hospital in the small town. With any luck that would help keep the numbers of the undead down. At least that's what they were hoping for. While Clara and Glenn were working out the small details of the supply trip, everyone else moved on to the topic of the hostages. After much debate on how they should handle them it was decided that they'd take them out far from the farm and leave them. Since they didn't want them to meet back up it was decided that they would take them off on different days and drop them in opposite directions. With any luck they wouldn't meet back up with each other or with their group.

When Clara finished up her work with Glenn she stood up her neck and back stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. After stretching a little she leaned over and kissed Daryl gently on the cheek. They were still working on the small details of their trips, she had no idea how much longer they'd be. "I'm going to bed." She said.

Daryl nodded, "I won't be much longer." He promised as he ran his hand over the one she had resting on his shoulder.

"Better not." She teased as she headed to the stairs.

Clara was lost in thought; it seemed to be a problem of hers lately. She pushed the bedroom door opened and frowned when she felt how cold it was in the room. She didn't remember it being this cold when she came up for her notebook a few hours before. She must have forgotten to close the window, her brow wrinkled as she thought about it. She couldn't remember opening the window or it being opened when she'd come up before but apparently she or Daryl one must have. Of course Daryl hadn't been up there since he got out of bed that morning. He and Rick had been out most of the day helping Hershel and Jimmy move the cattle in closer to the farm. Slowly she made her way over to the window and pushed it down; as she turned around she came face to face with Randall. Before she had a chance to scream a dirty hand came over her mouth. "I owe you one bitch."


	29. Chapter 29: Unexpected Guest

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 28: Unexpected Guest**

Randall had turned Clara around to where her back was pressed against his chest his hand covering her mouth. He'd spent weeks in that shed thinking of nothing else but getting back at her. He wasn't the type of guy who liked his emotions played with; he'd never seen it coming, not in a million years that a girl like this would know how to be that deceitful. It didn't matter that he'd been playing them too. Bitches like that, bitches that pretend they're one thing and are really something else they we're worth keeping around. "I bet you thought that you were safe from me right bitch?" he asked looking down at her his hands roaming over her body. "Don't worry you're gonna learn your lesson for fucking with me. I just wish the rest of my people were here to enjoy it."

Clara choked back the bile that was rising in her throat. She knew that she had to get away from Randall before he had a chance to violate her. She would not be a victim like that, not again. The only problem was her mind wouldn't stop racing. The fact that he was attacking her here in the house it proved that the boy was completely mental. She knew that she couldn't take Randall on her own she just needed to get away from him. If she got away from him she'd be able to get to Daryl and she would be safe. She took a deep breath before stomping on the instep of his foot as hard as she could with the heel of her boot. When he let her go she kicked him in his injured leg causing him to cry out in pain as he fell to the ground.

Before Clara got a chance to run towards the door Randall grabbed her by the ankle causing her to fall into the wash table.

* * *

Shane was livid still livid as he made his way back towards the house. He knew it was stupid to be out there like that on his own but he needed some space he needed time to think. He wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been out there a few hours at least. Still he hadn't managed to get his thoughts cleared the fact that Andrea sided with Rick over him pissed him off too. He didn't like the idea of being pushed to the back while a tweeker redneck like Daryl Dixon was making decisions for the group. Just because he was putting his dick in Clara Peletier didn't give him the right to talk down to him. He did what he did to keep them all safe. Hell Carl would be dead if it wasn't for him, if he hadn't broke into that barn they'd still be looking for a little girl who was gone. All Rick done was cause the more trouble hell the morning after they'd cleared the barn he'd brought home another mouth for them to feed. That's the reason they were running low on food because of the fucking bleeding hearts in there. He should have taken off that day on the highway he never should have let Lori talk him in to staying. He never had any trouble until he let that bitch get to him. He was so fucking sick of her and her shit that kid she had growing in her was his and everyone fucking knew it. If only Rick would have stayed dead things would have been so much simpler. As he made his way towards the shed he noticed something wasn't quite right. When he'd went inside for the 'meeting' he'd double checked the shed and the barn to make sure that both locks were secure.

As he approached the shed he noticed a small lump laying on the ground. "Carl?" he called running over to the boy. Shane breathed a sigh of relief when he checked the boys pulse and found him breathing. Anger ripped through him when he rolled the boy over and got a good look at his battered face. He had an idea of what had happened, he had no doubt Randall had convinced the boy that he wouldn't hurt him. That he was just an average guy that was misunderstood. He drew his side arm and pushed the door to the shed opened, he already knew that Randall was long gone but he still needed to check. He gathered Carl up into his arms before heading to the house at a dead run.

Shane clamored up the front steps of the house and into it sounding like a heard of wild horses, "Rick! Lori!" he yelled.

Rick and Daryl both jumped up and ran to the door both of them with weapons drawn. "What's going on?" Rick asked then paled when he saw the limp form of his son. "Hershel!" he yelled as he pulled the boy from Shane and held him.

Hershel who had been in the dining room with them going over plans rushed into the living room and had Rick laid the boy on the couch so he could examine him. Lori who had been setting in the living room reading before bed was ghost white when she saw her son. "Oh my god." She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Rick, catch her." Hershel said calmly as he exaimed the boy. Rick wrapped his arm around Lori and caught her before she fell to the floor and helped her into the chair.

"Is he, did he get bit?" Daryl asked.

"No," Shane shook his head. "He's been beaten. When I came back from the woods I found him, the shed was opened."

"What do you mean the shed was opened?" Daryl asked though it was more of an accusation.

"Just that the shed was opened, I don't know how long it's been like that." Shane said. "When I got back from checking the boarders Car was on the ground near the shed and Randall was gone."

"How the fuck, do we know that you ain't the one that let him out?" Daryl asked.

Before anyone could answer there was a scream from upstairs and the crash of something breaking on the hard wood floors. Without a second thought Daryl ran up the stairs taking them two at a time and down the hall. It hadn't occurred to him until he heard that crash that if Randall had a chance to escape he'd go after Clara. He ran down the hall sliding on the rug before flinging the door opened.

* * *

Clara had been momentarily stunned when she fell into the wash basin. Her original plan to hit him hard and run was defiantly out of the question. She knew then that she would have to fight him; she only hoped that the sound of the basin crashing was enough to draw their attention downstairs. Randall came over top of her and slapped her hard enough to split her lip before coming over top of her tearing at her clothes causing her to scream. She reached up and dug her fingers into his eye, causing him to rare back and scream in pain. It was chance she needed, remembering the hunting knife Daryl had given her she unsheathed it and plunged it deep into his heart just as the door flung opened.

Daryl ran into the room and jerked Randall's body off of Clara and pulled her into his arms. "I got you girl." He said.

Clara was trembling as she held onto Daryl tightly, she was shaking all over. "He's…I did it…he's dead."

"He can't hurt you." He promised pulling back so he could look down at her he saw her hands coated in blood. He couldn't explain it but he didn't like the way it colored her skin, it didn't belong there, he knew that it would be just as difficult for her to see as well. "We gotta get you cleaned up." He said carrying her into the bathroom.

Rick and Shane who had followed Daryl up the stairs waited until he got Clara out of the room before they went in to clean up the mess from the body. The girl had been brave and they didn't want her to have to relieve that pain. She'd been through enough already.

Daryl took Clara into the bathroom and stood her up in front of the sink. He stood behind her making sure that she didn't fall as he turned the hot water on in the sink. Clara watched as Daryl took her hands in his and put them under the water. "Talk to me baby." He said as he started to gently clean the blood from her hands.

Clara knew that he was trying to get her talking to keep her from going into shock, "He um…he was in our room. I went upstairs after I said good night and the room was all cold the window was opened." She said watching as he lathered their hands with soap. "I did the thing that you yell at the stupid girl in the horror movies for. You know instead of running back out the door I went inside to close the window and he was there. He was angry with me because I tricked him. He was going to-"

Daryl cut her off he knew what Randall had every intention of doing there was no need for her to say it out loud, "I know, he can't hurt you now. You did the good thing, the right thing."

"I killed him." She said looking up at his reflection in the mirror. "I've never killed a person before."

He turned her around so she was facing him and gently cleaned the cut on her lip. "He was gonna do worse to you. He didn't give you a choice don't forget that."

Clara nodded, "I know."

"Good." He said. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Clara shook her head, "Just a few scrapes."

"Good." He said wrapping a towel around her and helping her back to their room. He knew that everyone would have a million questions but they could wait until morning. Hell he had a million questions himself, like how Randall got out of his chains and how Carl got to be outside. The boy was supposed to be upstairs. Of course that boy was never where he was supposed to be. "You sure you're okay with sleepin' in here?"

"As long as you're here." She said changing into a night gown.

Daryl cupped her cheek in his hand, "When are you gonna learn girl, I ain't goin' nowhere?"


	30. Chapter 30: Morning Romp

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out, I've been suffering from a horrible onslaught of writer's block and between that and work I was wondering if I'd ever be able to get this figured out.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 30: Morning Romp**

The bright early morning sun shined in the windows of Daryl and Clara's bedroom. He lay awake beside of Clara; he knew that the day promised to be busy but he wasn't ready it to begin just yet. He liked moments like this, moments where the only thing that matter was them together. In here, in this room, the only thing that existed was him and Clara. It was their private world that couldn't be corrupted by anything that was going on around them. He slowly leaned down and trailed kisses down the side of her neck his hand sliding up her back holding her against him. "Morning," she said sleepily. She ran her hand through his hair as she leaned her head to the side giving him access.

"It is." He agreed. He rolled her onto her back and before she even had time to register what he was doing he had her out of her night clothes and was buried deep inside of her hot body.

"Daryl!" she sobbed as she closed her eyes, her back arching. She knew that if they lived a hundred more years she'd never be able to get enough of this, or of him. She wrapped her legs around his lean hips and matched his hard strokes thrust for thrust. It wasn't long before he nails were digging into his back and she was sobbing his name in pleasure.

Though he wasn't ready for their morning romp to end, Daryl wasn't able to hold back any longer when he felt her body pulse around him. He buried himself inside her again before spilling his seed. He was breathing hard as he collapsed on top of her. "Now it's a good morning." He said with an almost smug grin.

Clara laughed as she leaned down to kiss him. "It really is." She said against his lips. "We should probably be getting up."

"Probably." Daryl agreed as he nuzzled her. "There's stuff to be done."

"I think we're probably sitting on a week's worth of dirty laundry since mama passed." Clara said the tone of her voice was a little on the sad side.

Daryl pulled back and looked down at her, "Ain't nobody going to blame you if you want to take a morning off."

"It's not that Daryl." She said looking up at him. "I would blame me, it's not fair for everyone else."

After they finished dressing they headed downstairs for breakfast.


	31. Chapter 31: Infected

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 31: Infected**

Daryl walked out to the shed with Rick, Shane, and Glenn the plan was to get Randall's corpse taken care of before it attracted anymore walkers than it already had then deal with Archie. Once that was taken care of they'd be able to concentrate on more important things like getting ready for the supply run and dealing with the assholes that had in mind to take over their farm. "How's Clara handling all this?" Rick asked looking over at Daryl.

"Better than you'd think." He replied, "Got a back bone of steel that one."

"Same Clara that will scream over a mouse?" Shane asked with a mock grin.

"Same Clara that punched your dumb ass in the face," Daryl smirked at Shane.

Both Glenn and Rick bit back grins. "Come on let's get this dealt with."

What they found inside of the shed was something that nobody expected, Randall who'd been killed the night before at Clara's hands was up and ambling around. While they'd become numb to seeing walkers this new event didn't make sense. Without a second though Glenn pulled the machete he'd taken to carrying since that day in the pharmacy off of his belt and smashed Randall in the head with it the head with it.

"The fuck?" Daryl asked his brow furrowed as he looked over at Rick.

Shane ran his hand over his head, "Maybe….maybe he got scratched or something before he came for Clara."

"Maybe," Rick said as he leaned over the body to check his arms and neck for any scratches.

Daryl watched Rick; he could tell that something was going on in the former sheriff's head. Something more than he was letting on, something he planned on picking his brain about later. "Let's just get this ugly bastard taken care of.

* * *

After helping Beth and Patricia clear away the mess from breakfast, Clara headed back upstairs and knocked gently on the door to Rick and Lori's room. She hadn't got a chance to check on Carl she knew that Randall had done a number on the boy and from what Rick had said that morning at breakfast was feeling horrible for the things that had happened. After hearing the sound of feet shuffling on the hardwood floors Lori opened the door. "How is he?" Clara asked.

"Feeling guilty," Lori said. "He blames himself; nothing Rick or I can say will make him stop."

"Maybe I can help?" Clara asked.

Lori nodded, "Sure I think anything would help at this point."

"There's a plate of breakfast for you in the pie chest. Rick said when he brought you and Carl's plates up that you weren't feeling too hot. Maybe you could try now?"

Lori nodded, "You sure you're okay with him?"

Clara looked over at the boy lying on the bed, "I'm good." She assured Lori.

"Thank you." Lori said before heading downstairs.

Clara pressed the door closed beside of her and walked over to the arm chair that Lori had vacated and set down. "Hey."

Carl looked away from Clara, "You don't have to sit with me I'll be okay."

"Maybe I want to sit with you." She said.

"Why?" he asked. "It's my fault you got hurt and that your mom died."

"That's a lot of guilt you're holding onto." She said. "Next thing you're going to tell me that you're responsible for the walker attack at the Atlanta camp and the CDC blowing up."

Carl blinked back tears, "But I saw the walker that killed your mom and I didn't kill him. I let Randall out."

Clara had tears of her own in her bright blue eyes as she reached out and took Carl's hand. "Things happen for a reason. You couldn't have known that it would have killed my mom. You were scared that you were gonna get into trouble. I don't blame you; I remember how it was to be almost 13. People still treat you like you're a little kid, it's only because they care about you. You had no idea what Randall would have done. He made you think he was some nice guy who needed help, believe me I know how he talked to people. That's not on you either, it's on him. People are responsible for their own actions, they can be good and they can choose to be bad. He chose to be bad."

Carl gently squeezed Clara's hand. "I don't want to be bad."

* * *

After they got done disposing of the body, Shane and Glenn headed back towards the farm while Rick and Daryl went to check on Archie. "Seems like you got a lot on your mind," Daryl said casually as they headed toward the barn.

Rick nodded and ran his hand over his haggard face. "Seem I do."

"You and I both know that the only scratches Randall had on him, were the ones he got from Clara. If there would have been another walker on the farm it would have went after Carl. Kid was unconscious when Shane brought him in." Daryl said.

"I know." Rick said then looked over at Daryl. "When were at the CDC, before the place blew Jenner told me something. He said that we were all infected."

"What do you mean?" Daryl asked confused.

"He said that no matter how we die, unless it's a head shot we're coming back." Rick said. "I just wasn't sure if I believed him until now."

Daryl didn't say anything for a few seconds taking a few minutes to process all that Rick said. "Doesn't really change much does it?"

"The others…when I tell them they're going to be pissed that I didn't share sooner, I just didn't see the point in scaring them. And now I just don't know how to tell them." Rick said.

"Might be a good idea to start with Dale and Hershel," Daryl said then grinned, "Might be best to tell Glenn last, he might stumble up at breakfast and blurt it out. "

Rick laughed, "Kid can't keep a secret."

"No he can't." Daryl agreed then clapped his hand on Rick's shoulder. "Whatever you decide, I have your back."


	32. Chapter 32: Doesn't Really Change Much

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. To GatorGirl99: Glad to be back too. I just ended up so blocked that I couldn't work on really anything. To Leyshla Gisel: I never understood the overreaction over the fact that everyone was infected in the tv show. I mean it really doesn't change anything.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 32: Doesn't Really Change Much**

"So…we're all infected." Dale said with a serious look on his face. "When we die…we'll come back unless proper measures are taken."

"That's right." Rick said running his hand over his face. "I didn't say anything cause…hell I didn't want to believe it myself. Hell you remember how Jenner was."

Dale nodded, "Believe me I remember how Jenner was." It was clear that he was thinking back to the day that they'd all almost lost their lives because a scientist thought it was his right to play God with all of their lives.

"He was the doctor that yall met at the CDC?" Hershel asked.

Daryl nodded, "Some bitch was wacked. He'd lost his wife to the disease, all of his friends, people he worked with and was all alone."

"He thought it was his right to play God." Dale said, "He preyed on Andrea, almost got her to stay for the explosion, offered her a way out of this life with no pain."

"We learned a while back that people are just as dangerous to us than the walkers." Rick said.

"Yes we did." Hershel agreed.

"So how do we handle this new information?" Dale asked.

"The way I see it ain't much changed." Daryl shrugged. "We're all gonna die, it's just now we have some new stipulations."

They decided the best way to handle things was to break it down into groups. Dale would handle Andrea, T-Dog, and Glenn while Hershel talked to his family, Jimmy and Patricia. Daryl would handle Clara and well Rick would take on his family and Shane. As they were walking back towards the house Daryl looked over at Rick, "You know Shane is going to somehow try to make this your fault."

"I'll handle Shane." Rick assured him.

* * *

Daryl walked into the house and glanced around the living room finding it empty. Knowing that she wouldn't have went off on her own without letting him know he headed upstairs. He could hear her soft voice coming from Rick and Lori's room. Seeing as how the door was left opened he walked over to it and leaned against the frame. He couldn't help but grin when he saw Clara sitting there playing checkers with Carl.

Clara could feel Daryl's presence even before she turned around, "Why don't you get some rest, we'll play some more later."

"Promise?" Carl asked. It was the first time either Clara or Daryl had saw the child like look in the boy's eyes. So often lately he'd been treated more like a burden than what he was, a 12 year old boy.

Clara smiled at him, "Promise."

Daryl nodded to the boy before walking towards their bedroom his hands in his pockets. "I got somethin' I need to tell you."

"That doesn't sound good." Clara said with a frown as she followed him into the room and closed the door.

"We went out to bury Randall." He said raking his hand through his hair. "He was…..well he was a walker."

Clara's brow wrinkled, "But he wasn't bit."

"I know." Daryl said. "He weren't scratched neither."

"Then how is it possible for him to be a walker?" she asked.

Daryl took a deep breath, "Back when we were at the CDC, you remember how crazy Jenner was."

Clara nodded, "I remember."

"We were all tryin' to get out I guess Jenner grabbed Rick told him some information. Rick at the time thought that the man was out of his mind. He'd been on his own talkin' to that computer of his too long. Jenner told Rick that we were all infected with the virus. That when we die, unless it's a shot to the head that we'll come back." Daryl explained.

Clara nodded; she took a few seconds to process everything he'd said. "Doesn't really change much does it?"

"The way I see it, it don't." he said pulling her into his arms. "I ain't gonna let that happen to you, you know that right?"

Clara nodded as she laid her head against his shoulder. "Does everyone else know?"

"Probably by now, we told Hershel and Dale first. Seemed like the right thin' to do, we decided to tell everyone separately instead of springin' it would be smart." Daryl said.

"You know Shane's going to blame Rick." Clara looked up at him.

"Hey don't you worry about Shane. Me and Rick will take care of him." Daryl said.

"He's really starting to frighten me." She said. "The way he watches Carl and Lori it's creepy."

Daryl nodded the look on his face was that of complete seriousness. "He's getting' worse, I see it too. He's gonna keep pushin' Rick until he doesn't have a choice."

"You think Shane is going to make Rick kill him?" Clara asked.

"The fact that Rick's let him live this long surprises me. Hell where I grew up a man touches another man's wife is grounds for puttin' a bullet in the asshole." Daryl said. "Rick's a better man than me that's for damn sure."

"No he's not." Clara said, "You're just as good of a man."

Daryl grinned at her, "To you maybe."

"I'm not the only one who sees it." Clara said looking up at him. "Maggie, Lori, Patricia, Beth, Andrea…they all see it too."

He cupped her chin. "The thing is…you saw it first. You were the only one who gave a damn about me."

"I'm just not easily scared." She smiled up at him before leaning up to kiss him.

"No that's for damn sure." He agreed kissing her back.


	33. Chapter 33: In Due Time

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming.**

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

**Chapter 33: In Due Time**

That night everyone set around the dining room table, nobody had said much through dinner and now that the plates were cleared away everyone knew it was time to talk about the facts Rick had withheld from them. Though most of them agreed with Daryl and Clara that nothing much was changed it was clear that not everyone felt this way. If looks could kill Rick would be dead many times over with the way Shane and Andrea were glaring at him. "You had no right-no right at all!" Shane snapped breaking the silence. "This is something that affects us all."

"Not really it only becomes an issue if you die." Daryl pointed out.

"Is that a threat Meth-Head?" Shane turned his attention to the redneck.

"Now this isn't helping matters." Dale said. "I can understand why Rick didn't say anything. You remember how Jenner was the man was unstable we had no way of knowing if what he said was true or not."

"You know what Dale everyone knows your opinion about everything. Why don't you just sit down a shut the hell up for once?" Shane snapped at Dale.

Clara was fuming she'd had enough of Shane and his bully tactics all of her life she'd been privy to assholes like Shane Walsh. Slowly she stood up and placed her hands against the table bracing her weight on them. "You know what Shane, why don't you set down and shut the hell up." She said, her voice was even never raising above the tone she used to generally talk in. She could tell by the look on the former deputy's face that he'd never expected her to stand up to him.

"Excuse me?" he asked standing up and raising an eyebrow at Clara as if he intended to take her on.

Daryl fought his every protective instinct to keep from slamming his fist in the man's face. He held back but gave Shane a look saying that if made one move he'd be all over him like white on rice.

"Just what I said Shane, we have heard your opinion over and over until quite frankly we are all sick of it. You're no leader you proved that back in Atlanta when you nearly let us run out of food before trying to do something about it. Or how instead of putting a stop to Ed hurting my mother when you knew it was going on you turned your back. You told everyone else to do the same; you let Merle bully and push people around until he nearly got everyone in the department store in Atlanta killed. You like to believe that you know what's best for us and maybe at one time you had good intentions. I think maybe it's time for you to just sit back and listen. You're right our old world with all of its rules is gone. This new world it's scary as hell but it's also what we make of it. It would be very easy for us to fall into the easy pattern of letting our guns speak for us. If we do that we're no better than those mindless drones than we're trying to stay a step ahead of." Clara said.

Shane stared at the girl for a few minutes, "And what would you have us do Clara? We have to do what needs to be done to survive. Hell if it weren't for me we would still be out in the woods looking for Sophia sleeping beside a barn full of walkers."

"I don't believe that, I think that all of that would have come out in due course." She looked over at Hershel and Maggie before turning back to Shane. "And our friends…no our *family* would have been spared the pain of watching those they loved cut down in front of them." Clara heard Shane snort but kept talking not letting him interrupt her. "We have to be united Shane else we're all going to end up dead." Having said her peace, Clara set back down beside of Daryl.

"End up walkers you mean." Andrea said, before anyone could interrupt she held her hand up. "All I'm saying is that we should have been told that it was a possibility. Even if you weren't sure if it was one of Jenner's delusions."

"It still don't really change anything." Daryl said.

"How can you say that?" Andrea asked.

"Dead's dead." Daryl shrugged, "Now we know that we need to take other measures to make sure our people stay that way."

"And all of our deaths until now have been walker related." Clara added. "This might sound a little pessimistic but chances are things aren't going to clear up anytime soon. Specially considering that we all carry the virus now we know we have to take extra measures to make sure that we take care of our people."

"Oh God." Lori said her face paling as she raised her hand to her mouth. Without saying anything else she stood up and ran to the bathroom. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to. Everyone knew what she was thinking; if she carried the virus that meant the baby did as well. She was wondering what would happen if something was too happened later on in her pregnancy if the baby was to be stillborn would it eat her from the inside out?

"I'll go check on her." Clara said standing up and following Lori. She could hear Lori retching from outside of the bathroom door. She knocked gently, "Lori are you alright?"

"Just a second-" she said before retching again.

"Let me in." She said her hand on the door handle. Once she heard the click she pulled the door opened and walked inside shutting and locking it behind her. She didn't say anything as she pulled a bath cloth from the cabinet and ran cold water over it. She handed it to Lori before pulling the woman's long hair from her face. "It's gonna be okay."

"You don't know that." Lori said. "I just keep thinking-"

"What if when you tried to abort the baby what would have happened." Clara finished.

"Well yeah…" Lori said.

"Well you're not very far along probably what seven, eight weeks?" Clara asked and the other woman nodded, "At that point there wouldn't really be much of a baby."

"It's still a hell of a thought." Lori said.

She nodded, "I know but you really can't worry about every little thing that could happen. I mean isn't that equally as bad?"

Lori nodded, "I suppose. I just…can't stop thinking about it. I mean this vision in my head of a little walker baby."

"Yeah…I remember watching the director's cut of _Dawn of the Dead_." Clara made a face then looked back to Lori. "Alright first thing you are going to do is stop all of this. You and the baby are going to be fine because I said so. We've done lost too many people we're not losing anyone else. And when the baby gets here and its perfect you are going to laugh with me about all of your nervous freaking out. Understand?"

Lori couldn't help but smiled a little. "Yes ma'am." Lori said.

They came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, by that time the family meeting had broken up and everyone had went their separate ways retiring for the evening. Clara walked out on the porch where Daryl was sitting on the porch swing. Without a warning she dropped down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck causing him to grunt. "She alright?" he asked.

"Yeah she'll be fine." She said. "What everyone else?"

"Shane's still talkin' out his ass…course Shane's always talkin' out his ass he's settled down some though." Daryl said his arm wrapping around her waist.

"Good." She said.

"Rick and I are taking Archie off tomorrow in the morning." He said.

Clara nodded she knew that was going to be happening sometime soon after all they couldn't keep wasting food and manpower on him. Not to mention they had no idea if his group would come to collect him. "I figured."

"Once we get that taken care of we'll be able to figure out what our next move is. Get things ready to settle down for the winter. The way I figure it's gotta slow the walkers down some." He said.

"Let's hope it does." She said.


	34. Chapter 34: Dread

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. **To piratejessieswaby:** Well it's Shane of course he's gonna fuck things up. It's the definition of what 'Shane' means fuck up. **To** **FanFicGirl10:** I really hated that the group kept letting Shane get away with his bullshit. A lot of heartache could have been spared if they would have taken matters in hand where he was concerned. Of course on the other hand it does make for good drama and if you haven't been able to tell by now I thrive on drama at least where story telling is concerned. **To GatorGirl99**: Again it's good to be back, the reason there was so much space in between my postings wasn't because I was blocked or had nothing to write about more along the lines of I had no time to write. I work retail and the holidays really kicked my ass, I honestly barely had time to sleep between work shifts. Then right after Christmas I got a new promotion. Luckily things have slowed down so yay! **To Leyshla Gisel**: It is an interesting concept isn't it.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 34: Dread**

Clara walked out to the car where Rick and Daryl had the map spread out. That morning they'd spent their time making preparations. While Rick and Daryl were dropping Archie off sight everyone else was getting things prepared for their scouting trip and readying the house for winter. Already the swamp was starting to harden it wouldn't be long before the creeks would be dried up for winter. It would make it much easier for walkers to get onto the farm. They had to make sure the fences were reinforced and that the cattle were secure. To make matters worse if the bitter cold weather they'd been having the past few weeks was any indication the winter they had come would be a record cold. They all just hoped that it would help slow the walkers down. "About ready?" Clara asked sitting the basket she was carrying on the hood of the car.

"Almost." Daryl said. "Rick and I just going over the plan."

"You sure it's a good idea not taking Shane with you?" Clara asked, she didn't want to question Rick's leadership she just couldn't help but notice that things went to shit when Shane was left in charge.

"We'll be back before nightfall." Rick assured her. "Did you bring it?"

Clara nodded and pulled her pink iPod from her pocket and handed it to Rick. "I just want you to know that I'll be wanting that back." Then she thought about the filth that covered Archie's body. "And you owe me a new pair of earbuds."

Rick grinned, "I'll keep it in mind. Now show me how this works."

"It's pretty simple." Clara said. "I put together a special playlist for Archie. I have the settings so there are no breaks between songs. We have a lot of Cradled of Filth, White Chapel, Asking Alexandria, Bullet for My Valentine. He'll never be able to hear anything going on around him."

Daryl shook his head, "You have interesting musical taste."

"Yeah well I'd like to call it quiet rebellion but it was quite loud and Ed hated it." She smiled. "So when are you going to head out?"

"Soon as Archie finishes his bath," Daryl said.

Clara gave him a shocked look, "How did you manage to get him to bathe?"

He laughed, "We didn't, Maggie said he wasn't getting into her car, trunk or not unless he was clean. Glenn and T-Dog have him behind the barn with Hershel's high pressure water hose and a bottle of liquid dawn."

Clara tried to keep from laughing but couldn't, "That's just mean."

"So is having to smell him." Rick said folding up the map.

"That is true." Clara agreed then nodded the basket, "Patricia put you all together a meal. She wasn't sure how long you'd be gone."

Rick nodded before he had a chance to say anything he heard Shane call his name. "I'm gonna go see what he wants then touch base with Lori and Carl before we head out." He said before walking away.

Daryl waited for Rick to walk away before pulling Clara into his arms and resting his forehead against hers. "Listen to me you stick close to the house alright?" he asked. "Keep your nose clean while I'm gone stay out of trouble."

"Hey I'm not the one prone to trouble." Clara pointed out.

Daryl snorted, "Like hell you're not."

"If I'm trouble I'm the good kind." She assured him as she looked up at him. "You're the one who likes to get himself into trouble."

"How do you figure?" he asked.

"Well there was that time that you almost got yourself killed out in the woods." She pointed out. "Then there was that other time when you Rick and Glenn caused all that trouble down in town."

"It's all circumstantial." He said. "That damn horse threw me else I wouldn't have gotten hurt and then Andrea decided to play Annie Oakley and shot me in the head. That time in town wasn't my fault neither we were minding our own business when those assholes showed up."

Clara leaned up and kissed him. "The point is I don't want you dead alright."

"Ain't nobody dying tonight Clara." He assured her as he held her tightly. "We'll be back before you know it.

"I love you." She said resting her forehead against his shoulder her hands fisted in the back of his shirt. She kissed him one more time before walking away.

Clara knew that she was going to have to keep her mind occupied if she was going to make it through the day. For some reason she was more jumpy and nervous that she had been the day the guys did recon at that dairy farm. In fact she hadn't had a feeling as bad as this one as she did the day of the fish fry in Atlanta. Needing to be left alone with her thoughts she headed towards the chicken coop. She knew that Patricia could always use help with the chores.

"Chickens are taken care of and the horses are fed." Clara said walking into the kitchen to where Maggie and Beth were. "I was gonna milk the cow but she's a mean old bitch tried to take a bite out of me."

"Yeah you have to handle her just right." Maggie said then gave Clara a closer look. "You alright?"

"Fine." Clara said washing her hands, "Just…worried."

"Why, they haven't even left yet." Beth said.

Clara frowned, "What do you mean they should have been gone hours ago."

"Car's still out there." Maggie said.

Clara frowned, "Something's wrong."


	35. Chapter 35: To All Things Must End

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. To **piratejessieswaby**: Why does everyone always assume it's Carl? To **Leyshla Gisel**: Trouble does happen to be my middle name according to my brothers. To **FanFicGirl10**: Don't worry Clara and Daryl are safe. I too have never been a fan of stories that split up the main characters and put them with someone else before bringing the characters back together. I honestly think it's really over rated so rest easy. And to **BabylonianRider**: Thank you for your comment. That was a whole lot of 'oooooo's on that 'so'. Glad you're enjoying the story and welcome.

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 35: To All Things Must End**

Daryl wasn't exactly sure how long he stood waiting by the car for Rick. His first thought was that something probably happened but quickly rejected that thought; after all if there was some kinda security breech well then he would have been one of the first ones to know about it. Knowing that there was no use waiting by the car he headed towards the house stopping by the shed where T-Dog was on watch. "You seen Rick?" he asked.

T-Dog shook his head, "Shane came out of the woods said there was something he needed Rick to help him check on but I ain't heard from neither of them since."

"And that didn't strike you as odd?" Daryl asked.

"Not really just figured Shane was being Shane." T-Dog shrugged.

"Yeah that's what I'm worried about." Daryl said walking towards the house.

Lori was walking towards the house when Daryl walked up to her. "I figured ya'll would be gone by now." She said.

"Rick went to check on you and Carl I ain't seen him since." Daryl said. "Shane called him out into the woods."

Lori frowned, "You don't think-I mean I know Shane and Rick have had their differences but you don't think he'd try something do you?"

"Lori Shane has lost his shit so yes I think he would." Daryl ran his hand over his face. "Where's Carl?"

"Jimmy was playing checkers with him in the house." Lori said.

"Get everyone back in the house lock the doors." He said before heading to where the men had been working on the fences.

She paled, "You think he'd-" she didn't finish instead she nodded and headed towards the house.

Clara was pacing back and forth when Lori came in, "Rick's missing Daryl thinks Shane-" she babbled. She hadn't been this terrified since the day Shane showed up at Carl's school to tell her that her husband had been shot.

Maggie stood up and helped Lori set down. "You need to calm down, last thing we need is you going into shock. That ain't good for the baby."

"Where's Daryl?" Clara asked.

"He took Glenn and T-Dog to look for Shane and Rick. Andrea, Dale, and Hershel are on watch." Lori said. "Carl I need to check on him."

Beth stood up, "I will." She said before running upstairs.

"I knew something was wrong." Clara said close to tears.

* * *

The sun was starting to hang lower in the sky as Daryl, T-Dog, and Glenn went into the woods. The temperature was already starting to drop and it wouldn't be long before they'd lost the light of day. Daryl just hoped that they found Rick and Shane before then. "This is where Rick followed Shane to." T-Dog said.

"You sure you're not over reacting?" Glenn asked, even as the words left the mouth he knew he wasn't. It had been clear to him for a long time that Shane was out of control. Situations like the one they were in brought out different things in different people. For Rick it had brought out the strong leader and Shane it brought out a deep underlying darkness. Who was to say that the darkness had been there before, all that mattered now was protecting their people.

"You really askin' me that?" Daryl asked.

"I just felt like the question needed to be voiced is all. " Glenn said.

"You see anything?" T-Dog asked.

"They definitely came this way." Daryl said studying the tracks before leading them on into the woods. They walked quietly for a while longer before he squatted down and frowned deeply.

"What is it?" T-Dog asked.

"There's a dust up here." He said.

"You need to dumb it down for us non-trackers." Glenn said.

He sighed, "City folk, they went down here looks like they had a scuffle."

"Well you know they've been having a pissing contest for a while now maybe things just finally came to a head." T-Dog offered.

"It was more than just a pissing contest." Daryl said standing up and dusting his jeans off. "They started moving again here, the tracks are on top of each other."

"Shit." Glenn ran his hand over his face.

They followed the tracks into a clearning just in time to see watch as Shane reanimated and came after Rick who had his back turned. He was more concerned with Carl the boy was in tears and had his gun drawn on his father or rather what looked like his father. Before Daryl could fire an arrow, Carl squeezed the trigger on the gun, shooting Walker-Shane in the head.

* * *

There was the heavy 'thump, thump, thump' of Beth's boots on the stairs as she came running back down taking the stairs three at a time. "Carl's not upstairs." She yelled out of breath. "Neither is Jimmy."

Over the next half hour they searched every place they could think of in the house only to come up short. After deciding there could be no way Carl was in the house, Clara picked up one of the hand guns off of the table and tucked it in the back of her jeans. "Keep her calm." She said to Beth and Patricia. She was terrified that Lori was going to have a breakdown and that was the last thing they needed. S

"Where are you going?" Maggie asked.

"To find Carl." Clara said pulling her coat on.

"Daryl told us to stay in the house." Lori said.

"And Daryl knows that I don't listen all that well." Clara said.

"I'm going with you." Maggie said checking the magazine in her own gun. "We'll be back before dark, I'm sure Carl and Jimmy are fine."

"Lock the door behind us." Clara said.

Lori nodded, "Just find them."

"We will. I'm sure everything is fine." Maggie lied.

Clara turned to look at Maggie, "You are a piss pour liar."

As they were walking out the front door they watched as Hershel and Dale ran towards the house, "WALKERS!" Dale yelled.

Clara held the door open for the older men and slammed it shut behind them. "Well if it's a few walkers lets take them out." Andrea said.

"It's a herd." Dale said. "There's no way we can get them all."

"Then what do we do?" Maggie asked.

"How far out are they?" Lori asked Dale.

"We have maybe fifteen minutes." Hershel said.

"What about Daryl and the others?" Clara asked.

"They went into the woods at the south end of the farm near the swimming hole. This horde is coming from the North." Dale said.

"We just need to buy enough time to distract them." Clara said turning to Beth and Patricia, "The cars are loaded with supplies for the run we were making in the morning. Go upstairs grab blankets clothes anything you think we might need but hurry. She turned to Andrea and the older men, "Use the balcony above the front porch as a vantage point. Cover me and Maggie we're going to create a diversion."

"What about Rick and the others?" Lori asked.

"Hopefully this will give them enough time to get back here." Clara said picking up a dish rag and a grill lighter. "When we get back be ready with the cars we want to use them to draw the walkers off the farm.

"You're insane you know that?" Maggie asked when she saw Clara grab the fuel can off of the back of Otis' old blue Ford.

"I have my moments let's just hope this works." Clara said as they ran towards the barn. Her heart was doing a dubstep in her chest as she watched the dark shadow of walkers coming towards them. At first she'd thought Dale had exaggerated about the size of this horde. If anything he'd grossly underestimated it's size.

"My God." Maggie gasped.

"Hey stay with me." Clara said. "This is no time to panic."

"What if Glenn and Daryl ran into this herd." Maggie said.

"Dale said they went into the woods towards the south end of the farm. They should be safe." Clara said then silently added 'they have to be safe.'

The Walkers had just reached the barn when Clara and Maggie ran inside. Clara handed her the dish rag and the lighter. "Climb to the loft while I douse this place. When I start climbing you light that rag and drop it."

* * *

Daryl would never forget the sight he saw when they came out of the woods. The farm was a complete mad house, the barn was a blazing inferno and the popping of gunshots filled the night air, to make matters worse the place was completely over ran with walkers. It was the last thing he'd expected to see after all the farm had been their safe haven, their harbor against the walkers. To see this chaos reminded him of the night they had come back to the camp in Atlanta to find it completely over ran. Only this was worse far worse they were all virtual strangers in Atlanta now they were like a family. "Kill as many walkers as you can. Find our people, get to the cars, draw as many as we can away, we meet at the high way!" Rick yelled drawing his gun and firing at the walkers who were coming after them.

Without a second thought he took off running towards the farm, he jumped on his bike and fired it up. The loud rumble of the pipes drawing walkers towards him, he didn't give them a chance to catch up with him before speeding away. He had one thought in his head and that was to find Clara, he had to make sure she was okay.

* * *

Almost crippling pain shot through Clara's ankle when she and Maggie jumped from the hay loft. Though she hadn't been having any trouble with her ankle in the past few weeks the moment it slammed into the ground she knew that she'd done damage to it again. Still she knew that now wasn't the time to worry about injuries besides the adrenaline pumping through her body kept her from really noticing the pain. "We have to haul ass." Maggie said jerking Clara from the ground and pulling her away from the house. They ducked behind the tractor to catch their breath.

"Go on I'll slow you down." Clara said breathlessly as she assessed the throbbing pain in her ankle. "I'll cover you."

"You better not get yourself eaten cause I'm not gonna be the one to tell that pain in the ass redneck that you decided to be a hero." Maggie said.

"Don't worry I'm full of piss and vinegar so I won't taste too good." She joked. "Now go!"

Maggie didn't argue instead took off at a dead run towards the house shooting the walkers who dared get in her way while Clara took out the ones behind her.

* * *

Daryl was covered in blood and out of bullets; he wasn't sure how long he weaved his way through the mess of walkers trying to find Clara. He knew that there was no way they'd be able to reclaim the farm there was just too damn many of those beasts. He set back watching as the inferno that once was the barn collapsed in on itself. He kinda wondered if this was how Nero felt as he watched Rome burn. He was drawn from his thoughts when he heard a scream. He gunned the throttle and shot forward following the screams. He made it just in time to watch as Clara fell onto the ground a walker on top of her gnashing it's teeth at her trying to bite into her delicate skin. Before he had a chance to take it out she stabbed it in the eye with the bowie knife he'd given her. "Lets go gerl!" he yelled to her.

Clara had never been so relieved in her life as she was in that moment. She shoved the corpse off of her and pushed herself to the ground hobbling over to Daryl and the bike and hopping on. She held on for dear life as Daryl sped away from the farm.


	36. Chapter 36: What Happens Next

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Walking Dead, sometimes I take it out of the box and play with it for a little while, I do however own Clara Peletier.**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this story I'm glad you all are enjoying it. I absolutely love your feedback so keep it coming. **

**WARNING: This story deals with Domestic Abuse on wide spectrum including psychical, emotional, and sexual. I don't mean to offend anyone so if it's something that you're not able to handle please read no further.**

* * *

**Chapter 36: What Happens Next**

The sun was barely starting to show in the horizon when Daryl finally stopped the motorcycle. He knew that he needed to meet back up with the rest of the group but the last thing he'd wanted to do was have a trail of walkers stringing behind them. After all he had no idea what they'd find when they made it to the highway. Daryl cut the engine on the bike and turned to face Clara. He cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her hungrily. Clara's hands fisted in his jacket as she kissed him back, moaning softly against his lips as he teased her tongue with his own.

After a few minutes Daryl pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. "Scared the shit out of me." He said. There was a gruff tone to his voice but the fact that it trembled gave away that it was all bravado.

"I'm okay." She assured him as she tried to catch her breath.

"Don't you lie to me." He scolded her. "I can feel you trembling."

"So I'm a little scared, like half a cup of scared." She said.

"You get hurt?" he asked.

"When I jumped out of the barn loft I think I broke my ankle again." She said.

"We'll get Hershel to check it out when we get back with the group." He said.

Clara paled, "We're going back to the farm?"

"Hell no, place is over ran doesn't seem like it will change anytime soon. We're meeting back up with the group at the highway were we lost Sophia." Daryl said.

"Think they made it out?" she asked after a long pause.

"They were holding their own." Daryl assured. He didn't voice it, but he was just as worried as she was. "We need to get back on the road."

Clara nodded; she wrapped her arms tightly around him and rested her chin on his shoulder.

* * *

Rick was standing beside of Hershel's Suburban when he heard the sounds of cars coming up the highway. He jerked Carl behind him and drew his gun he had no idea of those people were his own or those from Randall's group. It wasn't until he heard the straight pipes of Daryl's motorcycle that he came into their view. He felt lighter when he saw the old blue Ford pick-up as well as the small Hyundai. Slowly their people started to lumber out of the cars. He couldn't help but notice that there were less people, Andrea was gone and so were Patricia and Jimmy.

There was certain relief, and lighteness when the group reunited. Though no one ever voiced it they had all been afraid that the others had been dead. After the all hugged talk became grim. "I have something for you." Rick said to Clara who gave him a confused look. He pulled her ipod out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Clara laughed as she took the small device from him. "Thank you Rick." She said before hugging him.

"Where did you find everyone?" Rick asked turning to Daryl.

"Well I saw these tail lights zig zagging all over the road. Thought it had to be an Asian driving like that." Daryl said.

Glenn grinned good naturedly, "Good one."

"Where's the rest of us?" Clara asked leaning against Daryl for more than just support for her ankle. She wasn't really to not be this close to him.

Rick sighed, "We're the only ones who made it so far."

"Shane?" Lori asked.

Rick just shook his head; he hadn't really gotten a chance to tell anyone who hadn't been in the clearing what had happened. Still when Rick said that Shane was dead everyone knew the truth. That Rick wasn't given another choice; Shane had lost himself, lost what it meant to be a civilized human. They didn't need any explanations they already knew. The look on Lori's face was resolved but there was something in her eyes that was crescent fallen. Whether it was the fact that Shane had been part of her family since before the world went to shit or how they'd carried on after that had her upset nobody knew.

"Andrea?" Dale asked. In the time he'd come to know the woman she'd been the closest thing to a daughter he'd ever had.

"She saved me and then I lost her." Maggie said.

T-Dog shook his head. "We saw her go down."

"And Patricia?" Hershel asked.

Beth looked up at her father her big blue eyes filled with tears. "They got her too, took her right from me. I was holding onto her hand." She sobbed as Hershel put a comforting arm around her. "What about Jimmy…did you see Jimmy?"

Dale shook his head, "Jimmy was in the RV it got over ran."

Beth didn't say anything else, she couldn't. While the last few weeks they were together she'd done everything to push him away, afraid that he'd be the only boy she'd ever love. That they'd stay together not because they wanted to but because there was nobody else. Now that he was going she was realizing he was more to her than just that, he meant more to her.

"Did anyone think about Archie?" Daryl asked he might not have liked the piece of shit but that didn't mean he wished this on him.

"Hershel and I went to free him." Dale said. "The shed was completely ripped apart."

"That's horrible." Lori said.

"Is that what happened to Andrea?" Clara asked.

"There were walkers everywhere." Lori said but it was clear that she wasn't completely sure that the woman was dead.

Daryl looked down at Clara and wlaked towards his bike, "I'm gonna go back."

"I'm going with you." Clara said.

"You ain't not with that ankle the way it is." Daryl said.

"No." Rick said looking at Daryl.

"We can't just leave her."

"She's not there anymore. She's somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her." He said his voice raw with emotion.

"We're not even gonna look for her?" Glenn asked.

"No Rick's right we gotta keep moving there's walkers crawling all over here." Daryl said picking up his crossbow.

"I say head east." T-Dog spoke up.

"We have to stay off the main roads." Daryl said. "The bigger the road the more walkers, more assholes like this one." He lifted his crossbow when he saw a walker in an argyle sweater walking towards them. "I got him." He fired the arrow hitting him straight through the eye.

* * *

Nothing else was said as they all loaded into the vehicles and headed out. Daryl knew that he probably should have insisted that Clara ride in one of the cars but he didn't. He wasn't ready for her to be away from him just yet. Nobody paid much attention to the scenery passing them by, all they knew was they needed to put as many miles away from them and the herd as they possibly could. The temperature was dropping along with the sun when they heard Rick honk the horn alerting them that he needed them to stop.

Daryl slowed down to a stop before looking over his shoulder. When everyone started to get out of the cars he cut his engine. "You out?" he asked.

"Running on fumes." Rick said.

"Well we can't stay here." Maggie said.

"And we can't all fit in one car." Glenn added.

"We'll have to make run for some gas in the morning." Rick said.

"We're gonna spend the night here?" Clara asked looking around for something to use for cover.

"I'm freezing." Carl said, it was probably the first thing the boy had said all day.

"We'll build a fire." Lori said to her son.

"We'll go looking for fire wood, stay close." Daryl said. "I only have so many arrows how are you doing on amo?" he asked Rick.

Rick shook his head as he walked over to the suburban and pulled an extra jacket out for his son, "Not enough."

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie said.

"Watch your mouth." Hershel scolded his daughter. "Everyone stop panicing and listen to Rick."

"We'll set up a perimeter and in the morning we'll run for gas and some supplies." Rick said.

Maggie shook her head, "Glenn and I can make a run now try to scrounge up some gas."

"No." Rick said in a definite voice. "No we're not separating again. We stay together that's how we're gonna make it. God forbid that something happens and someone get stranded without a car."

"We're stranded now Rick," Glenn protested.

"I know it looks bad." Rick said, "We just need to hold together. We've all been through hell and worse but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure I really wasn't but we did. We stay *together*. We're stronger that way. We'll find shelter somewhere there has to be a place."

Everyone exchanged looks, it was clear to Clara that they were all feeling pretty defeated. "Look around Rick, there are walkers everywhere." Glenn protested. "They're migrating or something."

"No there has to be a place, not just a place we hole up but a place we fortify." Rick said. "A place we make a life for ourselves."

"But no place we find will ever be safe. We fooled ourselves into believing the farm was safe and look what happened." Maggie said.

"WE won't make that mistake again." Hershel spoke up.

"We don't even have supplies." T-Dog said.

Beth perked up, "Actually we do. While Maggie and Clara were setting the barn on fire Patricia and I filled the cars. Everything was already packed for the supply run and we got blankets and stuff too. That's how they got Patricia." She said her voice trailing off.

"You amaze me." T-Dog said clapping his hand on Beth's shoulder.

"Well it wasn't my idea it was Clara. She got everyone in order." Beth said.

"No matter you saved our lives." Daryl said.

"We just need to find a place to camp for tonight. Tomorrow we'll find a place." Rick said looking around. Just off of the road there was the foundation of an old stone house. "We'll make camp there."

Before everyone could grab the supplies from the car Clara spoke up. "I might have a place for us to go. I mean it's not what Rick was talking about a place to fortify but we really don't have time to look for that now. Winter will be here soon and we need some place to stay now."

"What are you thinking, Clara?" Rick asked.

"Well it's just we were already making plans for the university, why don't we just go there?" she asked.

Rick stood there taking it in for a few minutes before nodding, "Might be a sound plan."

* * *

That night after the fire had died down; Daryl was snuggled in one of the oversized sleeping bags with Clara. Neither one of them were sleeping though they were both exhausted. "Scared the hell out of me today." He whispered.

"I scared me too." Clara said turning so she could look up at him.

"I love you Clara Dixon." He said pushing her blond curls from her face.

"Dixon?" she raised an eyebrow.

Daryl shrugged, "Well you know I just thought I'd try it out see how it sounds. Things ain't the way they used to be but I still want you as my wife you know. I wanna do this thing right."

Clara leaned up and kissed him softly, "I love you too Daryl Dixon."

* * *

AN: Kindred Spirits is over but Clara and Daryl's story is far from it. It will pick back up in The Road We Travel.


End file.
